Paradox
by RLTygurr
Summary: During the climactic battle with All For One, the rescue team is intercepted by Kurogiri. In a freak accident, his quirk accidentally transports them into the past only to reappear moments later. Returning changed by their experiences, can they reconnect with their old lives or will the sins of the past catch up with them?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone!**

**This is my first BNHA story so I hope you all enjoy it! I'm going to be experimenting a bit with my writing style, specifically with how I use dialogue. Let me know whether or not you like it, as it will help make future chapters significantly better.**

**I don't own anything from BNHA, except for maybe an OC or two. We'll see.**

**Enjoy!**

"_If you, his friend, called him...I'm sure he'll listen!"_

Eijiro Kirishima looked backward and reached out his hand, red hair flailing wildly in the wind. "COME ON!"

Katsuki Bakugo looked up to see his classmates literally flying through the air. It all happened so quickly that a normal person couldn't react, but he had trained his mind to think quickly in times of stress. He barely managed to glimpse a pale hand reaching toward him before igniting an explosion beneath his feet, propelling him high into the air.

'Higher!'

A second explosion gave him the speed necessary to catch his airborne comrades. Bakugo barely managed to snag the redhead's outstretched hand, holding on for dear life as their combined momentum kept them moving despite the extra weight.

"You idiots!" he yelled over the roaring wind. Despite his tone, the boys could see the smile on his normally angry face.

"Bakugo-kun! On my mark, create a blast-" Tenya Iida began.

"You follow _my_ mark!"

"Guys, this isn't the time to be fighting!"

From down below, Tomura Shigaraki was trembling with rage. "How do you manage to show up everywhere!?" he seethed, forgetting his mentor's battle entirely in the moment.

Izuku Midoriya, the rescue team's green haired member and All Might's successor, took a glance down at the dumbstruck villains to see the masked man Mr. Compress flying in their direction and gaining on them quickly.

"**Titan Cliff!"**

Mt. Lady grew to her maximum size as quickly as she could before the flying man collided with her nose, breaking it in the process. "Prioritize the rescue, you stupid kids!" she yelled, voice slightly distorted from her broken nose.

This entire time, All Might and All For One continued their rapid exchange of blows after the latter had pulled himself from the rubble of a building. The villain turned to the side and his fingers darkened, before extending and impaling a motionless Magne.

"Forceful Quirk Activation: Magnetism!" he said, causing a blue glow to envelop the men of the Villain Action Squad and a red glow to surround Himiko Toga, the sole female of the group. A wormhole stood behind her, and most of the men were pulled toward her until the impact forced them all into the portal.

"Master, no! What are you doing!? Your body is too damaged!" Shigaraki cried, struggling against the force with all of his might. However, he continued inching toward the gate with every moment. The memories came back to him.

"_Nobody came to save you? You've had a hard life. Don't worry, I am here for you..."_

"No!"

The pale haired man struggled for a few more moments before he was pulled into the portal, disappearing from sight. The wormhole followed shortly after, fizzling out until no trace was left of its existence.

All For One turned back to his opponent, allowing his fingers to return to their normal size and color as his quirk dissipated. "I only came here to save Shigaraki, but if you want to fight, I may as well stick around." he said.

The symbol of peace was growing more agitated by the second before charging with a fist cocked and ready to fire. His fist was halted as the villain halted his fist with Gran Torino's body, which had been warped in the way. All Might cringed as he heard the brittle bones of his mentor's head crack.

'Gotta end this, and fast!'

Ripping the old man's body out of the liquid that suspended him in the air, All Might dropped Gran Torino behind him with a glare. "You've always toyed with people, exploiting their weaknesses. You scoff at innocent people who are just trying to live happy lives!"

He bounded forward with a single powerful step, launching himself toward the villain. "I will not allow it to continue!" He quickly grabbed All For One's outstretched wrist, squeezing and twisting it to the side.

"I'LL DEFEAT YOU!" he screamed, plunging his fist directly into his opponent's chest and ripping apart the clothing that covered it. Putting more force into his punch, All Might angled downward to force the man's body into the ground. A quick shockwave destroyed the ground beneath his body, and a gust of wind emanated from the blow.

The hero panted heavily, fist still embedded in the villain's chest. His eyes widened as dark laughter came from the dust below his fist.

"Hahaha. You seem a bit worked up about something, All Might. I've heard that exact same line before you know, from the person who held One For All before you!" All For One said, seemingly unaffected by the massive blow he was just dealt.

"Nana Shimura!"

The name struck All Might deep in his heart, and the memory of her death left a hole in his being that pulsed in agony. Distracted, he didn't notice All For One's movement until he was punched in the side by a massive burst of wind. The impact forced him backward, creating a small crater where he landed.

"You're growing weaker, All Might. One For All no longer dwells within you, and it grows weaker each time you use it." the man remarked in a snide tone. "That boy, Izuku Midoriya, is the one you passed it onto, isn't he?"

The mention of his successor created a spark of fury within the hero. "It's a shame you will not live to see him surpass you, All Might. You're a failure as both a hero and a teacher!"

The dust settled around the symbol of peace, showing his skeletal form to the world. He panted weakly, gasping for air that refused to stay in his lungs. Around the country, people gasped as they saw what their symbol had been reduced to.

_Unseen by everyone else, the motionless body of Kurogiri stirred..._

Izuku, Kirishima, Bakugo, and Iida all continued running from the battlefield. Their adrenaline-fueled steps kept them moving at a quick pace, but they had stopped to watch for much longer than they should have.

"Okay, I think we've gotten far enough away for now." Kirishima said, wheezing in between breaths.

"We need to keep moving! If we're seen anywhere near the battle, it could get dangerous!" Iida exclaimed, continuing onward. Bakugo scoffed.

"I didn't need your stupid help anyway! I would have figured out how to beat those assholes somehow!"

Kirishima glanced at him as they all ran. "You serious? You say that _after_ we save your ass?"

"Whatever, Stupid Hair! Let's just get out of here." the ash-blond grumbled before a dark mist cut them off in an alleyway. From the inky blackness emerged two glowing yellow, slanted eyes, as well as two metal neck bracers.

"Well now, I'm afraid I cannot allow you to go any further." the deep, polite voice of Kurogiri caused the hairs on their necks to bristle. Izuku pushed his Full Cowling to 12%, enveloping himself once more in green lightning and stepping in front of the other boys.

"Iida-kun, Kirishima-kun, Kaa-chan, get out of here while you can. I'll take this guy." he said, resolutely.

"Absolutely not!" Iida cried. "If you fight him, we fight with you!"

"Hell yeah! Leaving you behind to fight for us isn't manly at all!" Kirishima said with a smirk. Bakugo chuckled.

"One versus six gave me some trouble, but one on one I can take him myself!" The explosion user rocketed himself forward, quickly followed by the others. Bakugo arrived first, using another blast to propel himself over Kurogiri's body and into his blind spot.

Izuku used the buildings in the alleyway to zip around at high speeds, and Iida rushed directly toward the villain. Kirishima hardened himself but lacked any sort of speed boost, so he ran normally.

Suddenly, the Warp Gate user's body expanded to cover a large portion of the alley. Two gates appeared, one in front of Bakugo's fist and another in front of Iida's path. Already most of the way through his punch, Bakugo couldn't react in time to prevent his fist from entering the cold portal and striking his classmate directly in the face.

Izuku hesitated just long enough for Kurogiri to turn and grab the explosion user's leg, his grip strong despite his arms being made of mist. He slammed the boy into the nearby wall before leaning backward just enough for Izuku's fist to grace his left bracer.

Creating a gate below his feet, the villain vanished in an instant before reappearing behind Kirishima, who couldn't react in time to defend from his blind spot. A savage kick made of darkness flung the boy into a nearby dumpster, denting it heavily with a metal screech.

"You are all powerful, but your teamwork is atrocious. Surely you don't believe you can defeat me with such simple minded tactics?" Kurogiri chuckled softly to himself. "I haven't led the League of Villains for this long without being powerful in my own right."

Bakugo spat a wad of blood to the side before wiping his mouth. "Shut up you bastard! This was just a warm up!"

"Bakugo-kun! Don't run in blindly! We need to work together!" Iida said, picking himself off the ground.

"Don't tell me what to do, dammit!"

Izuku took a moment to catch his breath. 'We can't overwhelm him all at once, but we can't just destroy everything either. We can't run away without taking him down, so our only choice is to fight!' he thought to himself, gritting his teeth. 'But how!?'

Iida looked back and locked eyes with Izuku, before they both nodded in agreement at the unspoken plan. "Midoriya-kun and I will go first. Bakugo-kun and Kirishima-kun, you both follow up!" the blue haired boy exclaimed.

Kurogiri's eyes narrowed slightly. "Is it wise to discuss your plan in front of your opponent?"

The only response was a cloud of dust bursting forth from Izuku and Iida's feet as they rushed forward. Iida took the lead, rushing in with a leg sweep that was dodged by Kurogiri simply moving his fog away from the ground. His pants floated limply where his legs were a moment ago. Izuku followed up with a high speed grapple aimed at the villain's bracers, which was narrowly avoided once more.

However, this gave Bakugo just enough time to slide underneath the man and unleash a ferocious explosion upward. The blast caused the tops of the adjacent buildings to crumble, some large rubble falling toward them.

Eyes widened, Kurogiri created a gate beneath him once again before diving into it. Bakugo was dragged into the portal as well, feeling the cold grip him as he moved through the void along with the villain, who's body became corporeal during that moment. Firing off another quick burst, Bakugo managed to strike the man square in the bracer, cracking it slightly.

The explosion user felt his return to the world more than he saw it, as his body received a sudden impact from his fall. Kurogiri panted slightly beside him, visibly shaken. "You have guts, I will give you that. However, that will not be enough!"

"Like hell it is..." Bakugo wheezed, taking big gulps of air into his lungs.

"Kaa-chan!" Izuku cried out, rushing toward them with a fist cocked and ready to fire. Iida grabbed Kirishima and used his Recipro-Burst to fling the two of them toward the other end of the alleyway where the two had reappeared. With a roar, the bespectacled man let loose one last powerful burst of speed and gripped his comrade's leg, throwing him forward for extra speed and kicking himself off the next building to catch up.

Kurogiri was unprepared for the attack, and was still winded from Bakugo's explosion during their teleportation. "Too slow!" he exclaimed, creating a portal in front of him to throw his three attackers as far away as possible.

However, his desperation caused his quirk to send them somewhere else.

Instead of being teleported to the other end of the alley, all three of the boys sank into the darkness only to reappear several meters above him. Bakugo, sensing an opportunity, prepared a massive explosion to finish off the Warp Gate user. With a simultaneous roar, time slowed for Kurogiri as his defeat drew closer.

'No! I don't have time to make another gate!' he thought, frantically. 'Anywhere is fine, anywhere but here!' His bracers were the only point on his body that could be damaged, but if they were destroyed his quirk would lose control.

The man pumped as much power as he could into his quirk, forgoing any sense of caution or restraint. Seeing the two fists, the leg, and the heat from an explosion nearing his body, Kurogiri's thoughts drifted to his long deceased wife and daughter. 'All I ever wanted...' he thought, life flashing before his yellow eyes. If those attacks all hit him at once, there was a good chance he would not survive.

'Was to see them again...!'

Suddenly, his body burst forth with unnatural amounts of vitality and expanded into a single, massive portal that covered the entire alley. With an uncharacteristic roar of anguish and desperation, Kurogiri's power surged and his glowing eyes intensified. Caught off guard, the attacking students hesitated for just a moment.

Izuku's fist and Iida's leg collided with the villain's bracers, cracking them both. Kirishima's punch shattered the left bracer, and a concentrated blast from Bakugo annihilated the other.

The black and purple body of Kurogiri cried out in agony, turning black and red and flaring wildly. The portal beneath their feet rippled like a multitude of stones thrown into a pond, and red lightning surged from within its depths. Kurogiri's cries being more and more pained as the portal slowly absorbed all five of them.

Bakugo attempted to stand up but found himself unable to move as the portal had already captured part of him. "What the hell!? I can't get out!"

The other boys were suspended slightly in the air by Kurogiri's flailing mist-body, but slowly were being dragged down. "I can't get out! Midoriya-kun, can you throw me out!?" Kirishima cried, vision being obstructed by darkness.

"I-I can't move either!"

"We must remain calm! But for the record I cannot move as well!" Iida said, struggling without the power of his Recipro-Burst to assist him.

"Dammit, not like this!" Bakugo grit his teeth and pulled as hard as he could, but he could barely reach an arm upward before his body disappeared completely into the portal.

"Kaa-chan!" Izuku called out, wrestling with shadows before he felt the icy cold of the portal envelop his leg, then the other. Soon his chest was below the portal and he shivered from the sensation.

The last thing he saw before his entire body vanished was his two friends and their opponent all sinking into the darkness.

_Back with All Might and All For One..._

"**United States of Sm-**!"

The sentence ended as All Might's enlarged fist bled profusely, causing him to cringe. His power exploded with everything he had left, but that moment of hesitation gave All For One the opportunity to use his Shock Absorption quirk to lessen the damage of the blow. Despite the massive cloud of dust, All For One came out of the attack no worse for wear.

The hero was helpless as he was backhanded away, body returning completely to his true, skeletal form.

"Close, but that last attack of yours was all you had left of One For All. Even now, I can sense it vanishing from within you."

All Might gasped from his place on the ground, attempting to pull himself up but barely able to sit up. He was unable to form words, knowing that he had failed both his master, his mentor, and his successor.

'I'm sorry, Midoriya-shounen. I'm sorry, Gran Torino...' He closed his eyes as All For One's fist began to enlarge and mutate with quirks once again.

'I'm sorry...Shishou.'

However, the punch never came.

The hero cracked his eyes open slightly before they shot open in shock. Directly behind his opponent was a dark portal of black and red lightning. The surface of the warp gate shimmered and flashed from the unstable energy within, before a red shoe emerged.

Green pants followed the foot until the entire person's body was visible. All Might's eyes widened. 'That's...impossible!' Green eyes and verdant hair, as well as freckles adorned the head of the person, leaving only one person who fit that description.

"M-Midoriya-shounen!?" he exclaimed, weakly. The boy-no- the _man_ in front of him spared but a glance in his direction before gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes at All For One.

It took the hero several moments to realize that his successor had gotten significantly taller, more muscular, and his face had lost all traces of baby fat. Izuku Midoriya no longer looked like an inexperienced student facing down a monster.

Izuku Midoriya looked like a hero, willing and capable of defeating anyone in front of him.

"We meet again...All For One."

Both All Might and Gran Torino shivered at the sound of his voice. It was a deeper tone than they expected, despite his new appearance, but it was undoubtedly _his_ voice.

Shortly after, four more individuals slowly stepped out of the dangerous portal. An ash-blond in a sleeveless skin-tight black bodysuit, heavy looking metal greaves, and with sparks emanating from his hands could only be one person.

'Bakugo-shounen too!?'

The red haired man stretched slightly as he exited the warp gate, as if he had just woken up from a nap. His razor sharp teeth and multitude of scars on his body gave him a menacing appearance, but his smile looked carefree, _relaxed_ even. He was shirtless, wearing nothing but a baggy pair of black pants and a waist-cape.

A bespectacled, blue haired man in a full suit of pure white armor was the next to reveal himself. His eyes were as sharp, and the mufflers on his calves roared in anticipation.

The final person to step through was one that All Might had thought was unconscious. His dark, misty body was accompanied by a full suit and neck bracers. As he exited the portal, it closed behind him without a trace.

All For One turned to the newcomers, interested. "Kurogiri, you've returned so soon. And with..._guests_." his voice's pitch rose on the last word, intrigued.

The Warp Gate user crossed his arms across his chest. "I have returned..._Sensei."_ he spat the final word with such disdain that even All For One's non-existent eyebrows rose.

Izuku glared at the embodiment of villainy. "Enough talk. We finish this _now_."

All For One smirked. "You're strong, Midoriya, I can feel it. One For All burns brightly within you now."

Bakugo cracked his knuckles with his other hand before clicking his tongue. "Tch. Are we gonna stand here and chat, or are we gonna fight, Deku?"

"Aww give him a break, Katsuki. He's about to get his ass handed to him, can't blame him for being chatty." Kirishima said, rolling his neck a few times to loosen any kinks. "But I'll admit I can't wait to beat this guy down, _manly style_." he smirked.

"Stay focused. Things are different this time around, but we can't get careless." Iida said, clenching his fists. The villain chuckled.

"Kurogiri, have you betrayed me as well? You still owe me a few favors, you know."

"I owe you _nothing_."

"Hoh?" All For One's smirk grew larger. "Interesting. After all I did for you, too. How regrettable." He reached his unmodified hand toward the Warp Gate user, fingers darkening with his quirk and extending quickly.

Faster than anyone could see, Izuku had gripped the lengthening fingers in a single hand and _squeezed_, shattering them in the process. Although it did not hurt in the slightest, All For One was shocked that his attack was so easily blocked.

A burst of air was all that foretold the kick that came from Iida. In an instant, he had appeared beside the villain and readied an extremely powerful blow. Just before the moment of impact, the mufflers on his calves flared with a bright white flash and his leg smashed into the side of All For One's head, sending him flying toward the rest of the newcomers.

Ready and waiting was Kirishima, who had hardened his body to the point where he no longer looked human in the slightest. His body creaked like rusty gears as he moved, but his immense muscles bulged as well. The villain flew right toward him, giving him a perfect opportunity to land a single, powerful punch straight to the chest with a roar.

All For One's flight path was forced upward by a burst of wind and a double-legged kick from below.

"Kaa-chan, now!"

"You're dead meat!"

Bakugo's left hand was shaped like a pistol and he stood in a firing stance with his right arm stabilizing his left. A bright, orange light shined from the tips of his pointer and middle finger, growing brighter until smoke wafted from his body.

"**Railgun shot!"**

A bright flash accompanied by a quick, high pitched burst was followed by the deafening roar of a sonic boom. The force of the blast pushed All Might and Gran Torino back, unable to keep themselves grounded in their weakened state. A thin line of sizzling ozone floated in the path of the attack, where the air itself continued to burn from the intense heat.

All For One's form was forced further upward from the force of Bakugo's attack, before it rapidly approached the ground. With a resounding _thud_ and the cracking of rubble beneath him, his body was still.

The entire exchange took no longer than five seconds in total.

All Might struggled to rise to his feet, jaw agape at the scene. His arch nemesis was defeated so quickly that it _terrified _him. As he stumbled to his feet, he felt a supporting hand behind his back.

"It's okay now, All Might. Take it easy."

All Might was not an emotional man. He did everything he could to put on a brave face for the people of the world, so that they could feel secure in their usual lives.

But he was All Might no longer. He was just Toshinori Yagi now, and Toshinori Yagi was a _very_ emotional man.

"M-Midoriya-shounen...how...? Wh-Where...?" the man stuttered, eyes gathering tears. "What happened to you...?"

The green haired man chuckled softly. "I'll explain later once we get you healed up. I'm sure Recovery Girl won't be too happy to see you, though."

Gran Torino stumbled his way closer. "Toshinori..." he started, weakly. "He's gone. He's finally gone."

Toshinori tried to speak, but realized that the hand holding his back was _not_ human.

It was robotic. A prosthetic.

The man tried to turn his head and look at it, but Izuku merely smiled. "Lost it in a fight. Like I said, I'll explain later." the green haired hero looked toward his companions.

"Kaa-chan, you made sure to hold back a bit, right?"

"Of course I did, you moron! I wasn't trying to kill him!"

Toshinori was floored. 'They were _holding back_ and they still managed to beat All For One...?' his brain grinded to a halt and Izuku could swear he saw steam coming out of the skeletal man's ears.

"STOP RIGHT THERE, VIGILANTES!" a deep voice roared from above before the flaming form of Endeavor crashed beside Kirishima and Bakugo. "What do you think you're doing, rushing into a fight like that!? You could have gotten in a professional hero's way!"

Bakugo scoffed, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Tch. Any other professionals would just get in my way." he glared right back at the eldest Todoroki. "You're a good example."

Endeavor's rage boiled over, causing his flames to ignite into a beautiful and dangerous blue color. Before the man had time to attack, Bakugo was lightly chopped on the head by Iida.

"Katsuki, remember what I said about your tone."

"Tch, okay _mom_."

"If I was your mother, you'd be getting a lot worse than that."

Bakugo let out a drawn-out sigh. "_Uuuuuughhhh,_ just kill me already."

The Engine user chuckled. "Just do the dishes next time and we'll call it even."

Another sigh. "You know I _hate _doing the fucking dishes."

"Exactly."

Endeavor's anger intensified as he realized he was being completely ignored. His blue flames erupted with a roar, threatening to consume to two men whole if not for the portal that redirected them upward into the air.

Looking to the side, the pro hero recognized Kurogiri. "Villain! I'll incinerate you for what you did to this city!"

The Warp Gate user sighed. "Such brutality is unbecoming of a pro hero. Wouldn't you agree, Bakugo-kun?"

"Piss off, Misty."

Kirishima casually walked between the pro hero and the new arrivals, hands clasped behind his head and his body returned to normal. He was still extremely imposing, equal in height to Endeavor but muscles more toned than large. "We done here? I'm getting kinda hungry and using my **Unbreakable**__takes a lot of energy out of me."

Izuku held one of Toshinori's arms over his shoulder, helping him walk toward them. "I have to agree with Eijiro, I'm a bit hungry myself. We couldn't eat before we left, or the portal would have made us sick." he said, much to Endeavor's surprise.

"Who _are _you people?" he growled, eliciting a few chuckles that made him growl even more.

The green haired man smiled cheekily. "What, do you not remember me from the Sports Festival? It's me, Izuku Midoriya."

Endeavor's eyes widened. "There's no way. Midoriya is just a kid!"

Iida turned to him, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "Indeed, he was. Things...have changed."

Kirishima laughed. "Haha, if you think we're still a bunch of kids, you've got something else coming buddy. I turned 23 just a few weeks ago actually."

Bakugo scoffed at the blazing hero. "You'd better not underestimate us. I bet I could wipe the floor with you all by myself."

This declaration caused Endeavor's rage to return, but another chop on the head from Iida forced Bakugo to direct his attention elsewhere as he rubbed the sore spot.

"Can you stop hitting the same fuckin' spot? That shit hurts after awhile."

Three hours later, the quartet stood together in front of detective Naomasa Tsukauchi's desk. The man behind the desk was rubbing his temples in frustration, but the four young men looked completely disinterested as if they wanted to be anywhere else.

"So you're telling me you four got thrown into the past, lived there for EIGHT years, then found a way back?" he asked, exasperated.

Bakugo facepalmed. "Aren't you able to know if we're lying or not because of your quirk? Just take it and let us go so I can get a damn drink. It's too late in the day for this shit."

Izuku sighed at his friend. "What Kaa-chan _meant_ to say-" he glared at the Explosion user who crossed his arms and looked away with a mild grimace, "-was 'yes, that is exactly what happened.'"

Kirishima yawned. "Can we do this tomorrow or something? When we left it was already the middle of the night so I didn't get to sleep. Being well rested and having a good internal clock is manly."

"I must agree with Eijiro, it is awfully late. Thank goodness most of the civilians were evacuated before we arrived, and there were plenty of heroes to rescue everyone else." Iida chimed in, eyes visibly red from lack of sleep.

Tsukauchi sighed, knowing that his night has only begun and the paperwork would keep him up for many more hours into the morning. "Fine, but I'll need each of you to come in tomorrow and explain what happened. How the hell am I supposed to explain _time travel_ to your parents and teachers!?" he grumbled, hands clutching his head at the thought.

Izuku seemed to remember something as his eyes shot open. "Oh shit, my mom!" he thought out loud. "She's going to go _ballistic_ when she sees me! Oh no, oh no, what I am I gonna do? If she sees me like this she'll start crying then she'll fuss over me and ask a bunch of questions and say how old I look and _muttermuttermuttermutter_" he rambled.

"Hey Izuku, you're doing it again." Kirishima remarked, snapping the green haired man out of his thoughts.

A scoff from Bakugo interrupted them. "The old hag probably won't even care." Izuku sweatdropped.

"I'm sure she cares...in her own way."

"Yeah right. First thing she'll do is scream at me, slap me on the back of the head, and call me an idiot. I bet you a thousand yen on it."

"That's a bet I'm not willing to take. You had to get your temper from somewhere, Katsuki." Kirishima said, hands in his pockets. He sidestepped the punch that came from the Explosion user with a chuckle.

The detective sighed once again. "Just head on home or something. I'll send someone to pick you up in the morning. Please just...don't make this harder than it already is."

Bakugo smirked. "No promises."


	2. Chapter 2

Class 1-A slowly began to gather in front of Heights Alliance, their new dormitory on U.A High School's campus. After the recent string of dangerous situations to befall the students, Principal Nezu decided that keeping the students on-campus would reduce the risk of them running into trouble.

The parents of the students had mixed reactions, with some not trusting the faculty in the slightest and others more than happy to have their little brats move out of the house a few years early. In the end, all of the hero students were to be moved into their respective dormitories immediately.

Ochaco Uraraka walked up to her classmates with a smile. Despite the tension since the villain attack and All Might's retirement, it only spurred her and her friends to try even harder to be the best heroes they can be.

However, the absence from a small group of their friends concerned her greatly.

"Hey guys, have you heard anything from Deku-kun or the others?" she asked, causing Denki Kaminari to turn his head her way.

"I haven't heard a thing, but remember when Kirishima said he was going to save Bakugo? You don't think they got expelled, do you?"

Mina Ashido shook her head. "If that was the case, wouldn't Yaomomo and Todoroki-kun be expelled too? They went with them after all."

Uraraka clenched her fists tightly to her chest, trying to keep her confidence high. "She's right. I'm sure they're just shaken up from all that's happened, and not ignoring us or anything..." she trailed off, hearing the sound of somewhat familiar voices behind her.

It was faint at first, but became clearer as the voices' owners got closer. Soon, her heart stopped as she heard something familiar.

"-ku! You know I could have beaten that guy's ass without my quirk!"

"_Sure_ Kaa-chan. The bruises took several weeks to heal, but you _totally_ could have taken him on with just your fists." was the snide reply, along with a snicker.

"Argh, he just got lucky that one time!"

The rest of the class seemed to hear what she heard, and they turned only to witness something they never in their lives believed possible. Izuku was laughing audibly while Bakugo sulked slightly without reprimanding him.

Or screaming.

Uraraka was dumbstruck. 'They look so different...Are they friends now?'

The two men seemed to notice them, and the green haired man gave his iconic smile and wave. It wasn't until they got much closer that she noticed a much more glaring difference.

"Holy shit, did you both hit a growth spurt or something!? Come on man, now I'm one of the shorter ones in our class!" Kaminari whined, but maintained a smile throughout. Jiro failed to suppress her giggles, and he groaned in mild embarrassment.

Ashido and Uraraka stood ramrod straight, side by side. Suddenly the pink girl leaned slightly closer and whispered. "Is it just me, or did they get _super_ hot in a week?"

The Zero Gravity user blushed, which only darkened as the two men stopped in front of them. She had to crane her neck upwards a bit to look them in the eyes, something she never had to do before.

Seeing her expression, Izuku chuckled and scratched the back of his head with his hand. "Haha, something like that. It's only been a week, but it feels like it's been forever since I've seen you guys. Pretty crazy that they're putting us all in the same dorm, right?"

Bakugo scoffed, hands in his pockets. He grumbled something to himself about 'annoying brats' but a sharp elbow from Izuku shut him up quickly.

"Yo! You guys beat us here." the crowd turned to see Kirishima in a tight t-shirt and jeans. Even from a distance, they could see his muscles and scars on display.

"You guys were just slow. Eijiro I understand, but it's not like Tenya to be late." Izuku replied, lowering his bag to the ground. The two talked as if they had been friends since childhood, but as far as the rest of the class knew, they had only met a few months ago.

"My mother was insistent on fussing over me. She reminded me of you-know-who. A little too much so." Iida said, dressed in a button down shirt and slacks along with a tie. What they weren't expecting was to see the traces of stubble lining his jawline, giving him a sort of business casual look.

"Iida-kun? Kirishima-kun? You guys looked so much different!"

"Did you hit puberty or something? What's with the beard?"

"Nice makeover man!"

"Hmm, this is quite the reunion of darkness."

The two men casually approached until they stood beside the other two men. All four of them had grown taller and their eyes sharper. In addition, the way they shared glances at each other said that there were secrets they weren't sharing with the rest of the class.

"Alright, quiet down." Shouta Aizawa, also known as Eraser Head, called out from the front steps of the dorm. "As all of your are aware by now, U.A. has decided to have all the hero students move into dorms for your security. This allows us to keep an eye on you, but there's a second reason."

The class patiently waited for him to continue, to which he smirked. "The second reason is that it allows us to prepare you for the provisional license exam. Normally this is done in your second year, but due to the extra villain activity it's been decided that you will take the exam before your next semester." he finished, hands in his pockets and looking over his class with a keen eye.

Class 1-A smiled to one another at the thought of becoming one step closer to their dream. "However," their homeroom teacher interjected, "you will be worked to the bone. You'll have very little free time, so don't expect to be sitting in the dorms all day. From here, we'll be working on developing what we call your Super Moves. I'll explain more on that tomorrow, but for now you should get settled in. All of your things you requested have been moved into your rooms already."

He stopped for a moment, eyeing the four taller members of the class. "As for you four, as well as Yaoyarozu and Todoroki, you will be under heavy scrutiny from here on out. You went to save a classmate, but in doing so you endangered a pro hero operation. If it weren't for your..._unique_ circumstances, the outcome of that battle could have been drastically different."

The four men shared a quick glance, but they said nothing and their expressions looked indifferent. Todoroki and Yaoyarozu wore guilty expressions on their faces.

"It will take quite some time before you earn my trust again. Be warned that if you have _any_ sort of screw up again, I will not hesitate to expel you on the spot. Putting both your classmates and pro hero lives at risk will not be tolerated, so I expect you to follow orders to the T. Understand?" he glared at them, to which they didn't react with anything other than a nod.

"Good. Be aware that the laundry room and the baths are located in the common area. Each floor has eight rooms, separated in half by gender-"

"Do my ears deceive me?" Minoru Mineta gulped. "The baths are in the common space? Is this heaven?" he mumbled to himself, sweating profusely with a perverse grin.

Aizawa rolled his eyes. "Again, they're separated by gender. You'll behave yourself, or you're out."

"Yes sir..."

"Anyway, I'm tired of explaining this to you. Just go in there and knock yourselves out, I guess." The students were all excited and ran past him into the large building that looked more like a small mansion than a dorm. As the majority of the class had passed him, he turned to the four outliers. "You four. We need to talk." he said, gruffly.

They nodded, following him away from the dorm until they reached the teacher's lounge. The entirety of U.A.'s hero course staff were present, but at their arrival the relaxed mood became tense. Nezu waved them over from his spot on the couch.

"Come, come! We have a lot to talk about, and not much time to do it. Make yourselves comfortable, and have some tea if you prefer." the mouse-hamster-bear said, motioning toward the multiple chairs and couches as well as a pot of tea on the center table.

Taking their seats, the four men shared a nervous look. "Now then," the Principal began, "would you mind explaining in your own words what happened to you?"

Iida was the first to answer, but not before sighing. "I'm sure you've been told the gist of it from the detective already, but if there are any finer details you want, please ask." he said with a chop of his hand.

The Principal nodded. "I haven't explained the situation to the entire staff, only Aizawa-kun here. Please start from the beginning, but don't feel pressured to explain every last detail." The other teachers glanced in the Erasure hero's direction, but abstained from speaking.

Iida took the lead with discussions, as the men had agreed on previously. "As I'm sure you're aware, we went along with Yaoyarozu-san and Todoroki-kun to save Katsuki from the League of Villains. The situation became dangerous, so we focused on escaping. However, we ran into a bit of a snag with that plan."

Kirishima decided to step in. "One of the villains there, Kurogiri, attacked us on our escape route. You know, the one who was at USJ with the portals?" he received a silent nod from the teachers in response. "To make a long story short, we fought him and his quirk went out of control..."

"Basically, we got sent into the past. Fifteen years, to be exact." the redhead finished.

"You WHAT!?" Midnight exclaimed, eyes wide in shock. The other teachers were less vocal, but their expressions were similar.

Present Mic ran his fingers through his small mustache. "That explains the new look, at least. I thought you looked older."

Bakugo grumbled, propping his head on his hand while his elbow sat on his leg. "His quirk can manipulate both time and space, apparently. He had no idea until it happened either." he explained, which only raised their eyebrows further.

"Ah yes, Tsukauchi did mention that the villain known as Kurogiri had-"

"He's not a villain, not anymore." the Principal was cut off by Izuku, who locked eyes with the intelligent creature. Nezu leaned forward, hands clasped together in interest.

"Oh?"

Izuku shook his head. "The full story isn't mine to tell, but he was in a coma for years after we all got sent to the past. After he woke up, it took him several more years to learn to use his quirk to send us all back."

Ectoplasm grunted, turning to Snipe. "To think, someone from the League of Villains had such power without our knowledge..." he trailed off. The four men decided not to say anything more on the subject until Cementoss spoke.

"What exactly did you do in the past?" he asked, eyes narrowed slightly. Izuku and Iida shared a look, before the blue haired man answered.

"We...believe that it's best if nobody in the present time knows what happened. Based on what we know, nothing in the present has been altered by our actions in the past so it shouldn't make any difference whether you know or not."

That dismissal of the question caused Nezu to glare slightly. "And you, a student, believe to know better than the collective knowledge of the staff here?"

"We're not students of this school anymore, Principal." Izuku responded, which earned a surprised look. "We graduated and have had our professional hero licenses for three years already."

Present Mic leaned back in his chair. "Haah? You graduated from _this_ school in the past? Then why wouldn't any of us remember that? You said it was fifteen years ago..." he trailed off, sharing a look between both Midnight and Aizawa.

"That would mean you graduated around the same year that we did." Midnight, also known as Nemuri Kayama said. "We would have known you for so long if that was the case. Also, you'd be the same age as us."

Bakugo rolled his eyes before pulling out his pro hero license and pushing it toward the center of the table. "_Ugh_, if you don't believe us just look. Jeez."

The teachers all leaned forward to get a better view of the license.

'Katsuki Bakugo'

'License for Professional Hero Activities and Quirk Usage'

'Hero Name: Ground Zero'

Silence reigned in the teacher's lounge until Ectoplasm hummed in thought. "Is it possible that you did not go to _this_ past, but the past of an alternate universe?" he mused, hand on his chin.

Nezu dismissed the thought with his paw. "If we go down that trail this situation gets significantly more complicated, but so far you said no noticeable changes have been made to the present, correct?"

A series of nods followed.

"Then the 'how' is less important than the simple facts. Humor me though, how are you certain nothing has changed other than the lack of memory of your graduation?" he asked, sipping his cup of tea with calculating eyes fixed on the time traveling group.

The men shared a look, and Izuku blushed furiously. Kirishima smirked and elbowed him in the side. "C'mon man, just say it already!"

Iida chuckled, but agreed. Bakugo's smirk was a bit more sinister, showing that he very much enjoyed his rival's embarrassment. "Oh this'll be good. Tell 'em, Deku."

"Well?" the Principal prodded.

"God this is awkward..." the green haired man started, running a hand through his hair to try to relieve some of his embarrassment.

It failed.

"The reason why..." he gulped, "...is because I dated one of the teachers in this room for almost two years."

_Silence..._

The teachers looked to each other one at a time, until all eyes landed on the sole female of the faculty. Midnight blushed heavily, finally noticing everyone's eyes on her.

"M-me!?"

The eyes shifted back to Izuku, who nodded while looking off to the side. If she wasn't just as embarrassed, the R 18+ Hero would have found his expression beyond adorable.

Present Mic whistled. "Whoo boy, that's a shocker! How do we know you're not just pulling a fast one on us though, huh? What's something that only she would know?"

Izuku's blush deepened and he began to stutter slightly as his teammates failed to stifle their laughter.

"Oh man, Izuku!" Kirishima cackled. "You _gotta_ tell them _that one thing_!"

"Absolutely not!" his face resembled a tomato, even more so due to his mop of green hair.

"C'mon, it'll be hilarious!" 

"I said no!"

Aizawa sighed in exasperation. "As fun as this is, do you mind clarifying for those of us who are lost?" he asked, sitting in his sleeping bag off to the side of the circle.

Izuku took a few deep breaths to calm his heart and stood up before approaching his female teacher. Midnight instinctively leaned away from him, but her blush darkened. Suddenly, the man leaned closer and whispered something just loud enough in her ear that only she could hear it.

The fact that she nearly fainted told everyone what they needed to know.

After a few moments, with silence from the teachers and raucous laughter from the time traveling quartet (minus Izuku, who was still blushing up a storm), Midnight fanned herself with her hand and averted her gaze.

"H-he's telling the truth..."

"WHAT!?"

Never before had they seen Nemuri Kayama be embarrassed to this extent, and it worried them. However, based on the context, everyone knew better than to ask questions.

Nezu coughed to rein in the situation. "Ahem. I suppose we will just have to believe you are telling the truth then. But now comes a more important question: What will you do from here? If you have already graduated from U.A., there is no reason for you to continue to take classes or live in the dorms with the other students."

The four looked at each other with concerned expressions. "Honestly...?" Kirishima began. "We had no idea. We're still trying to get used to being back in the present time. Back in the past, we all lived together in an apartment and had our own mini-agency set up."

Izuku hummed in thought, scratching his head and thankful for the change in topics. "Based on what we experienced before, it would be a huge problem if we show up out of nowhere and are suddenly pro heroes. Nobody else knows what happened, and we can't exactly go public and say 'hey yeah, we traveled into the past, lived there for eight years, and came back and nothing changed except our age'."

"People wouldn't buy it." Bakugo grunted. "Everyone saw us at the Sports Festival, which in this world was barely a few months ago. We were all just teenagers."

The faculty looked down in thought, until the Principal set down his cup of tea. "Based on what you've said, I must agree with you. It would be in everyone's best interest if you are kept out of the public eye. As of right now, we have no way to explain your sudden growth both in age and, I presume, experience. I propose that we perform an evaluation of your current skills as opposed to your previous abilities before you were sent away. From there, we can decide what to do."

The teachers nodded in agreement. "Actually," Vlad King spoke up, "I believe the best test would be for them to fight _us_, as a group." The counter proposal from the Blood hero drew concerned looks from some of the educators, but a few grins from others.

"Hmm. That is certainly an option. What do you four think?"

Bakugo chuckled softly, before flashing a manic grin toward the faculty.

"_You have no idea how psyched I am right now."_

And this is how the time traveller quartet found themselves suited up in their costumes, staring down the entirety of the hero staff at U.A. High School.

Stretching his legs, Izuku turned to his childhood friend. "Kaa-chan, did you really have to challenge _all_ of them?"

"What are you talking about? Of course I did! How often do you get the chance to fight seven pro heroes all at once!?"

Kirishima practiced a few punches against an invisible opponent. "This probably won't be easy, just so you guys know. These guys have worked together just as long if not longer than we have." Iida nodded at him, mentally preparing himself for the fight ahead.

"Katsuki. You already know what I would tell you in this situation, so just make sure to-"

"Yeah yeah, control the anger. Harness the aggression. You don't need to tell me."

"Good. We're going to be outnumbered, and some of their quirks are extremely versatile. We should devise a strategy that eliminates both the weaker and less cohesive members of the enemy group." he said, crouching down to draw a map into the dirt with his finger.

The other three boys nodded, mimicking his actions.

"Here's what we'll do..."

Several minutes later, Principal Nezu's voice echoed throughout Training Ground Beta. "Alright everyone, here is the unofficial graduation test for Izuku Midoriya, Tenya Iida, Katsuki Bakugo, and Eijiro Kirishima."

"Quickly going back over the rules, there is no lethal force allowed. Someone is only considered 'defeated' if they are unable to continue fighting due to severe injuries or if they lose consciousness. That is all. Use your comrades and the environment to your advantage, and defeat your opponents. One team wins when all the members of the other team are defeated."

"_BEGIN!"_

Izuku and Iida vanished into the alleys of the replica city, while Kirishima walked slowly through the center of the main road without a care in the world. He did a few jumping jacks and a few more punches to make sure he stayed warmed up, but he was beyond relaxed.

Bakugo used his explosives to propel himself onto the rooftops to survey the situation. Glancing around, he noticed the massive structure of cement being formed on the opposite end of the training ground. He pressed his finger to his earpiece. "They're making a base, most likely to draw us in and fight on their turf." he said.

"Smart. We have no choice but to go in, or at least make them _think_ we're going in." Izuku's voice chimed through the earpiece.

Kirishima could be heard popping his joints as he walked. "You know, we could just blast the dang thing and flush 'em out." he offered, which put a smile on Bakugo's face.

"As much as that idea sounds appealing, we should be a bit more cautious. There's a chance that it's a distraction and they're coming right for us." Iida said, among the rushing wind from his high speeds.

Bakugo was about to respond when he heard the distinct sound of a gunshot. Ducking, he heard a loud _ptang_ as the bullet struck the pipe behind him, tearing apart the steel even from the distance it was fired from. "Snipe is trying to pick me off, take out our eyes. I don't know how well I can avoid him if I stay out in the open."

"Then get down. Regroup with Eijiro and go straight for the base, but stay in the alleys. It's risky, but the sight lines are much thinner there than on the main road." Iida said.

_On the other end of Training Ground Beta..._

Vlad King and Eraser Head ran through the alleys, knowing their quirks would have the best impact in such a confined space. The white haired man turned to his companion as they moved. "Do you think they'll be foolish enough to fight us when we have such an overwhelming advantage in terrain?"

"I don't know for sure, but they all seem different than before. I can't rely on Bakugo's aggression or Midoriya's cowardice anymore, so we're in the dark in terms of their abilities. My guess is they'll send at least one to attack Cementoss's base, and use the others to ambush."

"Are you sure they won't-"

"**Double Delaware Smash!"**

Vlad King was interrupted as a blast of wind annihilated the ground in front of him and behind him. The two pro heroes halted and looked upward to see Izuku mid-jump, upside down with his hands extended. The blasts from his smashes caused the ground to crumble, but no significant damage.

Eraser Head lowered his goggles and activated his quirk, removing Izuku's. However, it did not halt his flight and soon the green haired man had escaped his sight into another alley before he could deploy his capture device. Running to where he was last seen, Eraser Head and Vlad King saw nothing but empty alleys.

"Tch. Damn kid is a hit and run artist now? We can't just ignore him, but we can't waste our time chasing him unless we can get him in the open." the black haired man said, turning to his teammate.

"We should regroup at the base. Snipe should be able to hold the main road, and Midnight is patrolling around the base to find anyone trying to sneak in. If they're working with decoys, they're probably trying to lure us away."

"Right."

Ectoplasm had sent his clones to scout the east end of the training ground, only creating a few just in case he needed more in an emergency. The eight clones ran through the alleys and some had climbed their way to the rooftops to get a better perspective on the situation.

Suddenly, one of the clones vanished. The original Ectoplasm tapped his earpiece. "I've found at least one, a clone was destroyed about half a kilometer north of the base, but it didn't manage to see which one."

Eraser Head's voice was next. "We saw Midoriya on the west end of the base but he ran off, about a kilometer north as well. We're regrouping at the west side of the base in case they go for a direct attack."

"Roger that. No sign of anyone this close yet, so hurry back." Midnight said, tone unusually serious despite her usual flirtatious personality.

Present Mic sighed. "It's getting boring sitting here with an ambush not knowing if anyone will spring the trap."

"Quit complaining Yamada," Eraser Head chided, "I have a feeling this won't be easy."

A massive explosion shook the training ground, and an entire building began to collapse. The dust and debris prevented Snipe from seeing more than a half a kilometer down the main road. "Snipe here, they're tryin' to cover their tracks with a bit o' destruction. Not very heroic if ya ask me."

"Can you see anything?"

"No visual on targets, but I can bet there's at least two of 'em headed right for me."

A few moments of silence ensued, before the hero heard something below him. Daring to take a peek over the edge of the rooftop, he barely reacted fast enough to lean away from the lightning fast kick that came from none other than Tenya Iida.

Quickly pressing his hand to his earpiece, Snipe yelled out. "I've got Iida on the rooftops! He's-gah!"

The hero was cut off as his bespectacled opponent used his engine to halt his upward momentum to turn it into a downward kick that struck Snipe's arm. Iida skidded to the other end of the rooftop before rocketing forward with no rest.

Snipe fired a shot from his pistol, aiming to incapacitate one of his opponent's kneecaps. However, Iida fell into a slide, dodging _under_ the bullet rather than over it like he normally should have. It was only due to his incredible reflexes and flexibility that he managed to avoid the shot, and Snipe had already lined up his pistol higher than his first shot, predicting a jump instead of a slide.

The man was not fast enough to correct his aim, and a strong grip on his right arm threw his shot off course. Snipe did not have time to react before he was thrown toward the main street. His spare pistol was all he had now.

Yanking it from its holster, he fired several shots aimed directly at more important ligaments. Iida dodged them by leaping off of the adjacent buildings faster than Snipe could aim. After his sixth shot was spent, Snipe reloaded his pistol as quickly as he could in midair.

But it was too late.

Iida had positioned himself with a clear shot at the hero's descent, pushing himself off the side of a large building and aiming an ax kick directly for his opponent's head. With his engines roaring, the blue haired man's foot struck Snipe's temple, knocking him out instantly.

After a few moments, Nezu's voice sounded throughout the training ground. "Snipe is unconscious and unable to continue."

"That's one down. Six to go. Continuing with plan D-7." Iida announced through his earpiece before sprinting back into the alleys.

Another explosion rocked the earth, much closer to the base than the last.

"What happened out there? Anyone see them?" Midnight asked, growing slightly nervous.

"Another explosion, and another building down. They may be using them as a way to communicate, so be on your toes." Ectoplasm said. "I'm sending out more clones to locate them. If we can hold them for even a few minutes, we can trap one."

"Good plan. I'll be on standby, but I'll be ready to head out as soon as one is found." Eraser Head said.

Midnight heard a rush of wind and the sound of a massive impact.

Another announcement. "Cementoss is unconscious and unable to continue!"

She turned around to see Izuku with his foot planted deep into her teammate's back. 'How did he get into the base without us noticing!? And how did he take out Cementoss in a single hit!?' she thought frantically.

Before she even had time to press her finger to the earpiece, Izuku was gripping both of her arms with more strength than she could ever have imagined him having. His intense eyes bore into her own, reminding her of what happened earlier.

"_The reason why...is because I dated one of the teachers in this room for almost two years_."

His musky scent only further drove her blushing face into a frenzy. He held her still for a moment, and she could only stand transfixed as he stared into her soul. She had no way of tearing her costume, so her quirk was only able to be released from her neck and her hands; not enough to put someone to sleep but only to slow them a little.

Her mind wandered back to what he had whispered in her ear.

"_I know that your quirk doesn't just put people to sleep. You can use it to make people horny too."_

Her blush darkened, and his face contorted into one of confusion. "Sorry about all this, but what's with that look?" he asked, cocking his head to the side cutely.

Nemuri Kayama hated to admit that she was attracted to younger men, but it was the truth. She knew to draw the line somewhere, but that youthful spunk that younger men had spurred something deep inside of her that never happened with older men.

Cute face? _Check._

Strong grip? _Check._

Lots of energy? _Check._

'Dammit, he's checking all of the boxes! Even the boxes that don't exist!' she thought, eyes widening.

"Uhh, Nemuri-sorry-Kayama-san. Are you okay?" he asked, innocently trying his best to ignore his slip up.

"Y-yeah..." she mumbled. 'Why is it so hard to talk to him! Wait, why _should_ I talk to him!? This is a battle!' Then she did something that neither of them expected.

She reared her head back and slammed her forehead into Izuku's, forcing him to release one of her hands to clutch at his face. This gave her just enough time to tear the sleeve of her costume and let her quirk spread freely. The pink mist enveloped the center of the base, covering everything in a blanket of pheromones.

She used the opportunity to throw a knee toward the man's chest, but he deflected it with his own. Midnight could see him losing the battle to stay awake, as his eyes slowly began to lose their fire. The R 18+ hero struggled to free herself from his remarkably strong grip, taking a step backward to gain some distance in case he decided to throw a punch.

Instead of the expected, he used his free hand to grip her tightly at the back of her head and crashed his lips into hers. Her world froze for a moment at the sensation.

'Wh-what the hell is happening!?' her thoughts ground to a halt. She had never been forcefully taken against her will before. She was always the one in control.

So why did she _like_ it so much?

She didn't notice until it was too late that Izuku had used her open mouth as a source of oxygen, inhaling deeply and literally stealing the air from her lungs to keep him safe against her quirk. After a few moments he pulled back with his cheeks pulled taut with whatever air he could keep, and he performed the equivalent of a squat jump directly in front of her.

Izuku leaned backward, tucking his knees into his chest in midair before bucking his feet out in a dropkick straight into Midnight's stomach. Any remaining air in her lungs was forced out as she was launched backward head-first into the cement wall.

Nezu's voice echoed once more. "Midnight is unconscious and unable to continue!"

"**Detroit Smash!"**

With an uppercut, Izuku created a shockwave powerful enough to tear a hole through the ceiling of the cement base, allowing the wind to carry the pink mist outside. Taking greedy gulps of air, Izuku pressed his finger to his earpiece.

"Inside of the base is *huff* clear. Coming out the top, gonna use the rooftops to regroup."

"Gotcha, Deku. I'll cover your escape. Just hurry before they lock you down!" Bakugo yelled back, before a massive explosion nearby captured everyone's attention.

"Eijiro, what's your status?"

"Oh I'm just chillin'. Aizawa and some of Ectoplasm's clones are here, so it's basically a street fight."

"Need any help?" Iida asked, slightly winded.

"Nah," you could hear the smirk in his tone, "this is gonna be _fun_."

Meanwhile, Bakugo was crouched in the far end of the main road on their end of the training ground. Without Snipe there to take him out at long range, he was free to stay out in the open no matter how far away his opponents were.

After all, this attack he was cooking up may have a long prep time, but it had a range of nearly fifty kilometers.

Concentrating his sweat into a cylinder, Bakugo strained his body to produce as much as he possibly could, making it as controlled as possible. It had taken him nearly ten minutes to create this much, and he was just about to finish.

After hearing a few announcements signalling the defeat of some of their opponents, the man smirked. 'Right on time for Deku to finish off his ex girlfriend.' Finishing up the last bit of nitroglycerin and pushing it into the cylinder, Bakugo panted for a few moments.

"It's ready. Clear away from the base, Deku!"

"Already on it! Open fire, Kaa-chan!"

Bakugo's smirk grew into a wild smile. "You know just how to make me smile, Deku! Brace for impact!"

He used two small explosions on his feet to plant them deep into the ground for stability. The explosion user held the cylinder in both of his hands and took a deep breath before concentrating all of his power into a directional force blast rather than an explosive blast.

"**Artillery Shot!"**

The resulting detonation produced a massive amount of force that threatened to yank Bakugo off of his feet if not for his feet being stabilized. A bright flash and a deafening boom later, the cylinder was sent careening through the air toward the cement base. With a high pitched whistle, it soared through the air towards its target.

The shell hit the ground, and the shockwave of its detonation alone destroyed several buildings nearby. A plume of flames and dust rose from the point of impact, burning brightly. Along with the residual _boom_ of the explosion echoing throughout the city, was the sound of buildings collapsing into rubble.

"Present Mic and Vlad King are both unconscious and unable to continue!"

Bakugo panted heavily. That attack took a lot out of him to use, so it was more useful as a support attack than anything else. Plus, the high level of destruction it causes wasn't useful in most situations.

"Kaa-chan, nice shot! You were only about forty meters away from the center of the base!"

"Shut up, Deku! It was twenty-five meters at most! I _know_ where I aimed at!"

Eraser Head narrowed his eyes as he took a few steps away from the Hardening user. 'Just me and Ectoplasm left, huh? Color me surprised. They're acting more like villains than heroes, but you can't deny that they're effective.' he thought to himself.

Kirishima smirked as he flung another of Ectoplasm's clones into a wall. "Come on, Aizawa-san! Can't you make this a bit more fun for me?" he taunted.

The Erasure hero deployed his capture device, wrapping the cloth around two loose light posts and yanking them together. The redheaded man took a quick step backward to avoid being hit. He still had a smirk plastered on his face.

"Woah! Now that's more like it!"

The battle raged on, with Kirishima being bombarded by clones in close combat and Eraser Head finding unique ways to throw off his balance while keeping his eyes glued to the Hardening user to prevent his quirk from activating.

Ectoplasm's voice came in through the earpiece. "I'm going to send three bigger clones at him. Hold him steady."

Not bothering to respond, the black haired man threw two smoke bombs at his opponent to put some drops in his horribly reddened eyes. However, he wasn't given an opportunity to do so as the ground rumbled, cracking in a straight line toward his feet. With his feet unsteady, Eraser Head was unable to focus on cancelling Kirishima's charge.

His eyes widened as he noticed the transformation.

The man's body creaked and grinded together like metal as he moved, and his appearance looked more monster than man. His already incredible physique was even more pronounced in this form, and he seemed much faster despite Hardening quirks being notorious for slowing their owners down.

"It's time to end this!" Kirishima shouted, rearing back a punch before pulling a cloth out of his back pocket and throwing it in front of him. Eraser Head used the opportunity to cancel his quirk, but during the perfect moment before the punch was thrown, the cloth obscured his vision.

"**Red Gun Turret!"**

A fist rocketed through the cloth and directly into the hero's face, shattering his goggles and sending him flying onto his back. He coughed up a glob of blood and clutched at his chest before collapsing on the ground.

"Eraser Head is unable to continue!" Nezu announced, leaving Ectoplasm as the last member of the staff team standing.

Said cloaked man's clones halted in place, staring at their opponent in interest before fizzling back into mush and combining together into three larger clones that were several times the size of a normal person.

Kirishima's body creaked as he turned to face his final enemies, the sound as bad as nails on a chalkboard. Before he had a chance to charge back into battle, they ceased moving and dissolved completely.

"Ectoplasm is unconscious and unable to continue! The student team wins!" Nezu sounded much happier than he should have been, considering the strongest heroes in the school were defeated by a team of four people who were just recently students.

Roughly half an hour and a grumbling Recovery Girl later, all four of the time travellers stood across from the faculty team they had just defeated. The teachers' heads were bowed slightly, but they had smiles on their faces.

"I have to admit, using that cloth at the right moment was a good strategy Kirishima." Aizawa said, holding an ice pack to his cheek. "You knew what your opponent's quirk was and used whatever you could to win."

Snipe grumbled. "If Iida-kun wasn't so _damn_ fast maybe I could have hit 'im!" he said, frustration at his loss leaking out but his stance was relaxed. "I haven't had a close range fight like that one in a long time! Gotta hand it to ya, that speed is no joke!"

Present Mic was trying to rap to explain how Bakugo's artillery shot 'really fried his chicken' or something along those lines, and Vlad was simply standing with his arms crossed along with Ectoplasm.

Cementoss was stretching a bit. "How did you know I had a bad back?" he asked Izuku, who chuckled and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Haha, uhh...lucky guess?"

Midnight was torn. On one hand, she got her ass handed to her by some super-powered brat. On the other hand, she got a glimpse into what being submissive was like.

Her sadistic side was pushed aside for the moment, and she felt like a schoolgirl all over again. Her face was still slightly red from a blush that refused to fade, and looking at Izuku Midoriya only made it worse. Thankfully, he seemed to notice the awkwardness and didn't bring it up.

She knew the rat would have a field day with this, and she prayed that nobody else saw exactly what happened in there.

Said rat decided to join them in front of the training ground, hopping up on Aizawa's shoulder. "Now then, I suppose I'll be the first to congratulate each and every one of you on a fantastic performance. Although it was a bit more...destructive than I would have hoped from you, you nonetheless defeated a team of highly experienced professionals."

A small amount of pride swelled in the quartet's chests, despite knowing that they could handle something much more difficult than that.

"Based on the results of this test, you four more than qualify as professional heroes in terms of combat ability. Since you already have your pro licenses, I will assume that your search and rescue skills are at least adequate as well. And so, I would like to extend an offer for you." Nezu began, catching everyone's attention.

'What is he plotting...?' Midnight wondered, slightly worried about her wellbeing.

"I would like you to become Teacher Assistants here at U.A. High School."

This proposal drew a few concerned looks from the existing faculty, but they couldn't find a reason to deny their Principal's request.

Sensing a bit of confusion, Nezu continued. "Your skills and versatility make you a valuable asset to our school, and our students could greatly benefit from your expertise. With All Might's retirement, we will need a new teacher for the Hero Course as well. You four would work together to teach the hero course and build the next generation of heroes."

They each looked at one another, mulling over the proposal. Izuku smiled. "Back when I was just a kid, teaching people how to become heroes seemed like the only option I could take. Even now, it wouldn't be such a terrible idea."

Bakugo scoffed. "Like I want to help some brats struggle their way through a bunch of simple assignments."

"You just hate people who can't get things right on the first try, Kaa-chan."

The Explosion user trembled in rage, but he knew that Izuku was right.

"I would have to think on it a bit more, but I would more than likely accept." Iida said with a few hand chops. "If we cannot go out and do professional hero work, we need something to occupy our time."

Kirishima rolled his shoulders to loosen some tension. "Hey, if you guys are in then so am I. I'm not about to break up the gang just yet." he said with a smile that the others shared. Bakugo's smile was much more subdued, but it was there.

The four nodded to each other, then to Nezu who was rubbing his paws together with a conniving smirk on his face.

"Excellent! We do still need to get your teaching licenses, but don't worry. You would be embarrassed at how easy it is to become licensed for teaching hero courses."

Kirishima groaned.

"Not more homework..."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone!**

**I've really been enjoying writing this story so far, and I hope to keep it up for quite awhile. I obviously won't have a chapter up every other day, but I'll do my best to update once or twice a week. I'm experimenting with shorter chapters than I'm used to, to try to keep my storytelling on track.**

**Feel free to review, and I hope you like this chapter!**

That evening, the four men returned to Heights Alliance for some much-needed rest and relaxation. Their rooms had already been set up, so there wasn't much of a reason for them to change their living situation despite their new position.

"It'll be weird living with the rest of the class, but it could be fun. Remember our first day back in the apartment?" Kirishima said, eliciting a few chuckles from his friends.

"Ha, yeah. You hadn't even been in the house for a few hours and your clothes were scattered all over the place. You were such a slob, Eijiro." Iida said with a barely noticeable smirk.

"Hey, I wasn't that bad!"

"Then there was the time with the dishwasher..."

"It...Okay it was pretty bad, but at least I got better!"

Bakugo scoffed. "Seriously. How did you not know how to use a damn dishwasher?"

Kirishima averted his gaze. "Listen, my mom had a _very_ specific way she liked things put in the dishwasher. If anything was out of place she would flip. After awhile I gave up on trying to figure it out."

Soon the group had reached the front door, and mentally prepped themselves for the onslaught of questions that were sure to come. Bakugo, sick of waiting, grabbed the doorknob and turned his head slightly toward his friends.

"Remember: No details."

They nodded and he pushed the door open. By now, it was past sundown so the rest of their classmates, soon-to-be students, were excitedly chatting about in the common area. At their arrival, all heads turned toward them but nobody was confident enough to speak first.

The Explosion user decided he didn't want anything to do with it. "I'll be in my room. Don't come over unless it's an emergency." At that, he walked right past the curious gazes of their younger classmates and into the elevator.

Izuku sighed with a hand on his hip. "Some things never change..." he mumbled, snapping everyone out of their daze.

Finally, Mineta was the one to break the silence by turning around on the couch and laying his arms atop the back cushion. "Where have you guys been? You missed the room competition and everything! And what happened to you anyway?"

The three men chuckled softly to themselves. "Sorry Mineta-kun, but we really can't tell you all the details. I'm sure you'll find out eventually." Iida said with an arm chop.

"Aww, but I want to know too!" Hanta Sero said, leaning back in his chair.

Their sentiment was shared by the rest of the students, but they received no answers from the men in question. Kirishima snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot! I had some groceries ordered and put in my room, so I'll cook up a nice dinner. With the whole-" he stopped before he could reveal the truth about what they had done for the past few hours, "-uhh, move in, we didn't get a chance to eat."

Izuku and Iida's stomachs growled in approval at the idea, and they both flushed slightly. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, Eijiro. Is it your katsudon or your fried eel this time?" Iida probed, to which the redhead shook her head.

"Nah, I'm trying out this beef stew recipe today. You've gotta tell me how it goes."

Izuku smiled at his two friends. 'After all this time, they're more like brothers than friends. Even Kaa-chan fits in there, in his own way.' he thought to himself.

Their audience was stunned. "Yo Kirishima! Since when did you know how to cook, man?" Kaminari said, brushing some of his yellow hair behind his ear. Ashido nodded in agreement.

"Hey, yeah! How about we have a feast to celebrate our new dorm?"

They cheered at the idea, and Kirishima went to grab his ingredients from his room. Iida went to ensure that his room was made exactly to his specifications, leaving Izuku as the last member of the quartet standing in the common room.

"Sooooo, how have you guys been?" he asked, sheepishly. His slight embarrassment was a relief to everyone in the room, as it reminded them of how he used to be. Despite the giant elephant in the room, nobody could find the proper way to ask the question of why he looks so much older.

Sensing the tension around the room, Izuku sighed. "Okay, let's just get this out of the way. I know what you guys have been dying to ask, so I'll explain a little." his declaration cheered them all up, if the wide smiles were any indication.

"Me first, me first!" Ashido raised her hand. "How did you get so tall and so muscular? You probably gained at least 15 centimeters since last week!"

Not knowing the best way to answer, Izuku rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, I...uhh...I grew. Like naturally." he waved his hands in front of his face. "I didn't do drugs or anything, if that's what you're thinking!"

Uraraka was the next to speak up. "Did...did you and Bakugo-kun make up or something? He's never been nice to you before." Her question prompted Tokoyami to hum in thought.

"In fact, it seems like all four of you have grown considerably closer than you were before. Also, you've started using your given names."

Izuku walked over and sat down on the couch ween Mineta and Kaminari. Everyone was focused on him as if he was some storyteller in front of a bunch of children. "To answer both questions, yes. Kaa-chan and I had our issues in the past, but we're more like brothers than anything else now. Some things that I can't mention happened, and crazy stuff like that brings people together. Eijiro and Tenya are the same."

Todoroki was noticeably silent throughout nearly half an hour of questions and answers. However, eventually he could hold his own question no longer.

"What...happened after you three saved Bakugo-kun?"

The room became silent after that, as the wound of that day was still fresh for everyone involved. However, Izuku didn't look as sad as he did nervous. After a few moments of thought, he whipped out his phone and dialed a number before holding it up to his ear.

A few seconds later. "Hey Aizawa, it's me...Yeah they're pretty persistent about it. Is it alright to tell them a little?..._*sigh*_ you know they won't leave it alone until I tell them, and they'll find out eventually...Okay I'll-" a slight interruption, "Nezu can deal with the consequences later. He's smart...Alright, g'night." Then he hung up.

During this exchange, the rest of the class was quiet with anticipation. Whatever they were about to be told had to be cleared through their teacher?

Setting his phone down on the coffee table, Izuku leaned forward a bit and rested his elbows on his legs. "What I'm about to tell you does not leave this room under _any_ circumstances, do you understand?" he said in a dark tone that nobody had ever heard him use before. If Uraraka was being honest with herself, she found it oddly sexy.

Receiving a few nods, he continued. "You already know that Eijiro, Tenya, and I went along with Yaoyorozu-san and Todoroki-kun to save Kaa-chan from the League of Villains. You all remember Kurogiri, the one who made the portals during the USJ incident?" More nods.

"He found us while we were trying to escape with Kaa-chan. We knew we couldn't escape, so we fought. Broke both of his bracers, but then his quirk ran rampant." This drew some more interested looks from his audience.

After a few more seconds of suspense, he finished. "The four of us, along with Kurogiri, were transported fifteen years into the past. We lived there for eight years before Kurogiri found a way to replicate that event without ending up in a coma for another three years."

Whatever answer they were expecting, this was _not_ it. Words died at the ends of their tongues, until Toru Hagakure, the resident 'invisible girl', managed to speak.

"Are you serious?..."

"Dead serious."

The students tried to come to terms with what they were told, and the room was quiet until Ashido snapped out of her daze. "Wait, eight years? That means you're like, an adult now right!? Did you ever have a girlfri-ack!" she was cut off as a blushing Uraraka wrapped her in a stranglehold.

Izuku chuckled, but his face went slightly red. "I'll spare you the details, but yes. I dated someone for about two years before we came back."

Hagakure hummed in thought. "But...wouldn't they be sad that you left to come back here?"

The green haired man shook his head. "As far as we know, nothing we did in the past has changed the present time. There's all kinds of theories on time paradoxes and how they can ruin the timeline, but so far nothing has been altered at all. It's almost as if we went to an alternate universe that happened to be fifteen years behind this one."

"To be honest, I'm fairly certain that she doesn't even remember me."

Mineta's head was spinning. "Wait, wait a sec! You dated a girl!? Was she hot!? Did you guys have se-mmph!" he was interrupted by Sero wrapping his tape around the shorter boy's mouth to silence him.

Izuku blushed, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment which many of the girls found cute. "That's not something you guys need to know about. Besides, you're a little too young to be doing stuff like that." he said, to which many of the others pouted.

Ashido pointed a finger at him accusingly. "That's not fair! You can't use that line until you're an old man!"

"Ashido-san, I'm 23 years old."

"...Oh. But still, that's not super old!"

Mineta managed to rip the tape away from his mouth just long enough to yell. "He didn't deny it! Midoriya-kun isn't a virgin! All the girls are gonna g-mmph!" he was cut off once more by Sero's tape, but this time he was completely wrapped in a cocoon so he couldn't escape. The muffled noises coming from inside were indicative of the Pop Off user's struggle.

Uraraka looked down in slight disappointment as the others laughed at Mineta's plight. 'He probably never even thought of me in that way anyway...' Seeing her friend's expression, Ashido nudged her and whispered.

"Cheer up Ochaco-chan! Maybe he's into younger girls!" This caused the blushing girl to attempt to hide her face behind her hands. However, her quirk activated and she began floating away. If it weren't for the pink girl holding on to an arm, Uraraka would have drifted toward the ceiling.

The madness continued for a few more minutes before Kirishima returned with a handful of grocery bags. "I see you told them." he stated with a small laugh. "Kinda wish I could have seen their faces when you dropped that bomb on them."

Izuku tilted his head to the side to glance toward the kitchen, where the redhead began slicing vegetables and meat with practiced grace. "You didn't miss way too much, to be honest. They took it pretty well."

"How did they take the...other thing?"

"..." Izuku was silent for a moment. "...I haven't...uh...told them yet."

Kaminari looked like he was bouncing in his seat. "Told us what yet!? You guys have so many secrets that it's getting crazy!"

Izuku mumbled something to himself under his breath before taking a deep breath. "We, as in the four of us that came back, are going to be your new teacher assistants for your hero course training."

That bombshell halted all discussion for a few seconds as their brains tried to process it.

"WHAT!?"

Yaoyorozu tilted her head to the side, intrigued. "If you're going to be teaching us..." she trailed off, and Todoroki finished for her.

"You already graduated from U.A. in the past, didn't you?"

The shock returned two-fold as Izuku nodded. Kirishima could be heard laughing loudly from the kitchen. One of Shoji's arms grew a mouth and he spoke. "They have eight years of experience on us. I don't see why they couldn't teach us something, especially if All Might is no longer able to do it."

"All Might is still recovering from his battle, but he's lost the ability to fight. He'll be there with us to teach your heroics course just in case, since we'll have our teaching licenses for only a few days before we actually start teaching you." Izuku explained, tone turning somber. Noticing the sore topic, Ashido decided to change it.

"Hey, Kirishima-kun! Did you date anyone in the past!?" she yelled out, before the elevators dinged and Bakugo walked out in a loose tank top and basketball shorts.

"Would you all just chill out? Jeez, you're loud enough for me to hear you and I'm on the second floor." he said, a little _too_ calmly to be Katsuki Bakugo.

"Sure did, Ashido-san. It only lasted a few months though; we were too busy to focus on that kind of thing for very long." The Hardening user turned to the side. "Katsuki, you reek man. Plus, I don't think they allow alcohol on campus."

The ash-blond gave him the middle finger. "Piss off. It helps me relax. I didn't sit at the DMV for three hours to _not_ have beer in my room."

"If Nezu finds out, you may get fired."

"It's worth the risk. Besides, the rat smokes like half a pack of cigarettes per day."

Kirishima shrugged. "Just don't give it to anyone underage, alright? If that got out, Aizawa might actually try to kill us in our sleep."

Izuku merely chuckled at their antics before turning back to the rest of the students. "Anyway, we'll be working along with Aizawa and All Might to help you develop your skills and your quirks. Most of it will be self-guided with a bit of advice here and there, but occasionally I'll sit down with each of you one on one to think of some unique applications for your quirks."

After a bit of grumbling about how they're going to be taught by their friends, the class settled down into a more comfortable silence. Dinner was served, and soon after they were finished the three men retreated to their rooms on the second floor for some much needed rest. As much as they enjoyed the presence of their friends-turned-students, they weren't used to the unusual amount of attention.

Several days later, Nemuri Kayama was walking toward the mall. She was dressed in casual clothing, and her long black hair was recently straightened into a ponytail, unlike her usual wild hairstyle. In addition, she chose to forego her red costume glasses in exchange for a more common pair. All of these changes made her nearly unrecognizable as Midnight the R 18+ Hero. Although she relished the spotlight of being a hero, she preferred to be a nameless nobody when she wanted to do regular people things.

Like shopping for absurdly expensive clothing that she would wear maybe twice in her lifetime.

Entering the new mall in Kiyashi ward, also known as Wookiees, Kayama made a beeline for the most luxurious part of the mall. Nobody paid her any mind, and she took the opportunity to hum a tune to herself.

However, that peace was not meant to last.

Her ears picked up a distinct set of voices, and she turned her head only to notice a green head of hair, along with a blue one. She averted her gaze as quickly as she could to avoid catching their attention, but the sound of their laughter grew louder by the second.

"Hey, Kayama-san! I can't believe we ran into you here of all places."

She wanted to die right there.

"Oh, hello Midoriya-kun. Hello Iida-kun. I was just on my way to check out some new brands that released in the past few weeks." she responded as politely as she could manage, but her smile was forced.

Either he didn't notice or he didn't care. "Really? Tenya and I were on our way to pick up some new outfits ourselves. You know...since we gained eight years of life all of a sudden. We weren't able to bring our clothes with us through the portal." he explained.

Sensing a bit of awkwardness, Iida clapped his hand on Izuku's shoulder. "I'm actually going to check out that bookstore for a few books on teaching. Do you want to come with me, or do you think you'll be here for awhile?" he asked, and Kayama mentally begged him to go with his friend.

Izuku spared Kayama a quick glance before shrugging. "We'll probably only chat for a minute or so. Go ahead and head into the bookstore, and we'll figure things out from there."

'Dammit!' Kayama's hopes were dashed as her only savior left her alone with the one man she wanted to avoid at all costs.

After a few seconds of silence, Izuku walked a bit closer and pointed to a nearby bench. "Do you mind if we talk for just a sec?" he asked, and she dumbly nodded. The sooner they got this over with, the better.

The two sat down and he took a deep breath and spoke frantically. "I'm so sorry for what I did during the test I wasn't thinking about any of that stuff and I just did what seemed like the smartest thing to do at that time and I hope I didn't offend you or _mutter mutter mutter_" he rambled on, to which Kayama failed to suppress a giggle.

'He's still pretty cute when he does that, as annoying as that habit could get.'

"Midoriya-kun, slow down. I'm not upset with you, but I'll admit I have a few questions about all of that." she said, to which he took a few more deep breaths to calm himself as well as his red face.

"Wh-what do you want to know?"

Kayama's inner sadist spotted the perfect opportunity for some payback and charged right in. She smirked at him, making him freeze. "I won't lie. As much as you surprised me with that kiss, I was even more surprised by how strong your grip is." she whispered seductively to him.

"Wh-what are you - Uhh - Why would-" he stuttered, blush darkening and causing Kayama's smirk to grow more sinister. Her eyes became sharper, a telltale sign that her sadistic side was _loving_ this.

She leaned closer to him and her voice became husky. "What's going on in that head of yours, hmm? Are you imagining pinning me down to the bed and having your way with me? Or is it further than that? Taking me against the kitchen table?" Each scenario forced more steam out of Izuku's ears.

No matter how much experience he had with the topic in the past, he still couldn't handle talking about it without becoming a stuttering mess.

She leaned even closer, her mouth brushing against his ear. "I've always wanted to fuck in the teacher's lounge, by the way. The danger of being caught makes it _so much sexier_."

She had to catch the man to prevent him from falling over as he began to lose consciousness. She giggled at him. 'I don't even need my quirk to knock him out. I could _definitely_ get used to this.' she thought as she lightly slapped him awake.

"H-huh? What happened?" he mumbled. "Did I...pass out?" he asked, still red in the face.

"Yep."

"Jeez. And here I thought you were going to yell at me or something. Just because we were...you know...in the past, doesn't mean we are now." he said, blush being replaced by a somber expression.

Kayama's smirk vanished as she heard his tone. 'He must have really liked that other me...'

"Speaking of that..." she trailed off a bit. "Time travel, huh? So it really happened." He nodded in response. "Pretty crazy to think something like that is even possible."

"You can say that again. Even Kurogiri was surprised when it happened. But he didn't wake up from his coma for three years, so we had gotten used to the idea by then."

Her eyebrow rose. "You talk about him as if he's your friend."

"He is."

She didn't know how to respond to that, and he continued. "He only joined the League of Villains because heroes failed to save his wife and daughter, and All For One took advantage of that. When we made it into the past, he got to see them again. Needless to say, he saved them this time."

Kayama smiled at the thought of a villain getting a second chance. "But when he came back, he threw that all away didn't he?"

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, but I think he got some kind of closure he was missing. He told me he turned himself in to the authorities, so he might get a shorter sentence and maybe avoid being stuck in Tartarus."

"One more question though..." she trailed off. "How exactly did you...uh...meet me in the past?" She didn't want to admit it, but she was more than just a little curious.

"We were in the same hero class, actually. Once we got sent to the past, we decided to just pick up where we left off and apply to U.A. Getting them to accept us without officially being registered was a nightmare, but Nezu was pretty understanding." He chuckled at the memory. "The mountain of paperwork was worth it though."

"Also, I remember the first version of your costume. I have to say, it was...definitely something."

She barked out a quick laugh. "Ha! In the beginning I was only focused on the best way to use my quirk, and I didn't care too much about modesty."

"That never did change."

She nodded. "The regulations changed pretty quickly after I went pro. The ultra thin fabric is the next best thing to nothing at all."

"I honestly can't say which I prefer, though. I mean you're stunning even by pro hero standards, but I just...uhhhhhh..." he averted his gaze.

"You just what?" she prodded, smirk returning but a small blush found its way to her face.

The man gulped. "I just...liked being the only one to see you with so little clothing on." That statement made her mind grind to a halt, but for whatever reason it made her feel _happy_.

Taking a few moments to gather her thoughts, Kayama took a deep breath. "You really liked me-or the other me-a lot, didn't you?"

"I did, but I had to leave that all behind just like Kurogiri did."

A short stretch of silence followed, and Izuku decided he wanted to leave it at that. "Well anyway, I should join Tenya in the bookstore so we can finish our shopping for the day. It was...nice getting to clear things up with you." he said, flashing a soft smile that she returned.

"Likewise. Maybe we could just be friends and coworkers from here on out?"

"Sure, that sounds like a good plan." his smile brightened and he turned to leave, but she snagged his hand before he had a chance.

"Wait...before you go, I have to know one more thing. Were we..." she trailed off, unsure of how to ask such a personal question in public.

"If you're asking whether or not we were intimate, then yes." his confirmation brought a slight blush to both of their faces. "To be honest, if there was any inch of your body I didn't know by memory, I would have been pissed."

He ended the conversation before it got any more awkward. "I'll see you in school!" he gave a quick wave before walking away, leaving Kayama to her own thoughts.

'He's definitely more mature than he was before, a little too much. But he's got a good heart, and he's fun to tease. Plus he's got an aggressive side in there somewhere.' she mulled it over in her head a few times before coming to a conclusion and facepalming.

'Dammit, I might have feelings for him. Shit.'

At least he wasn't her student anymore.

'Maybe I should look for a new swimsuit just in case?'

It only took three more days for all four of the time travellers to acquire their hero teaching licenses, something that Iida mentioned made him very concerned about their teachers' qualifications. However, they weren't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Especially Kirishima, who hated using his brain unless he was in the middle of a fight. Luckily for him, they would mostly be working with the practical part of the hero classes, as Aizawa would be taking over the actual educating part.

Roars could be heard from outside gym C, and Aizawa sighed in exasperation as he led class 1-A to their first day of training for their super moves. He opened the door and walked in, completely ignoring the raging battle inside.

The class stopped all of their conversations as soon as they entered, bearing witness to a one on one duel between Izuku and Bakugo. Neither one was using their quirks as they stood in the center of a massive circle, duking it out with fists and feet. Their moves were faster than most of the class could see, but each hit that was blocked or connected produced a resounding _boom_ the belied the power in each blow.

Both men were shirtless, wearing only a pair of shorts. Many of the girls sported blushes on their faces, while the boys couldn't help but admire their physiques. It didn't hurt that they were both covered in sweat, and each movement caused their rippling muscles to shine under the lights.

This is also where they first realized that Izuku's right hand was made of metal.

They were visibly exhausted as they traded punches and kicks, until finally they both attempted a grapple and both of their hands were locked together. They struggled against each other for a few moments, letting out a few grunts as they tried to overpower their opponent. Finally, Izuku let his grip loosen just enough for Bakugo to stumble forward slightly.

Taking his one opportunity to end the fight, Izuku stuck his leg between his opponent's legs and curled it around in an attempt to make Bakugo lose his footing. However, as he was falling Bakugo released Izuku's hand and used it to wrap his arm around his neck. The result was both of them falling to the ground, limbs tangled together and no clear winner from the exchange.

A cough drew everyone's attention away from the scene, provoking a few 'aww's from the girls who were red in the face. Mineta was paying extra close attention to Jiro, who seemed significantly more flushed than anyone else.

He hummed in thought. 'Maybe she's into that kind of thing' he wondered to himself for a moment before dismissing the thought as unimportant.

"If you're done warming up, your students are waiting on you." Aizawa said, already zipping himself into his sleeping bag.

The two men released each other before walking up to the class, panting heavily. The girls did their best to keep themselves calm, but most failed miserably. Uraraka's jaw was literally hanging wide open, Ashido seemed to be rubbing her legs together slightly, Asui had a glazed look in her eyes, Jiro was fiddling with her jacks and looking down, and even Yaoyorozu was fidgeting with a dark blush adorning her features.

Hagakure, for obvious reasons, didn't have to worry about anyone seeing her embarrassment.

"Alright, sorry about that guys. It's been a little while since we got a chance to duke it out, so we wanted to make the most of it." Izuku scratched the back of his head with a chuckle before reaching over to grab two towels off of a bench. Handing one to Bakugo, they wiped their faces and took a drink of water.

After satisfying their needs, both men looked back to the class. "I understand that we're supposed to be focusing on developing your super moves, but in order to do that we need to understand how you prefer to fight using your quirks. From there, we can develop a move that either suits that fighting style or covers a specific weakness you have." he explained, earning a few nods from his students.

"Tenya and Eijiro will be absent today as they're helping out class 1-B with the same things we're doing with you. Are there any questions before we start?"

Kaminari raised his hand and he was called on. "Uhh, Midoriya-sensei? What if we don't really have a fighting style?"

Bakugo crossed his arms over his chest. "That's half of the reason we're doing all of this back to basics crap. Without something to fall back on during a fight, you develop a lot of bad habits. It might not hurt you now, but in a life or death situation you want to make sure you're coming out on top."

Izuku hummed in agreement. "He's right. Kaminari-kun, your quirk allows you to discharge electricity from your body correct?"

He received a nod. "Yeah, but I can't really make it do what I want it to. All I can do is make large shocks that put my allies in danger too."

Jiro snickered. "Or you could go with the human stun-gun idea, fufufu."

"Hey!"

Their green haired teacher chuckled. "She actually has a pretty good point there, you know."

"Wait what?" "I was sorta kidding..." were the two responses from the students in question.

"Without the ability to focus your electricity, you're better off using it to increase your close combat potential. If you got extremely skilled at fighting in hand to hand, or with a metal weapon that could conduct your electricity, anyone who tries to block your attacks would get a nasty shock."

Kaminari's eyes widened in wonder. "I never thought about that before..." he said, gaining a newfound respect for his friend-turned-teacher. "Hey, I could use a lightning sword or something just as cool, right!?"

"For training purposes it would need to be blunted, and killing your opponents with a sharpened blade is generally frowned upon in the pro hero world. However, using it as a conduit for your electric attacks would prove very useful." Izuku replied with a soft smile, happy to have provided at least one of his friends with some guidance.

"And if all else fails, I'm certain the Support Class students would be more than happy to work with you for a more long-range solution. Those people can cook up just about anything." Aizawa chimed in, now laying down in his sleeping bag.

"Alright, any other questions?"

"What happened to your hand?" Hagakure asked, somewhat nervously.

"Lost it in a fight a long time ago, but the Support Class students made me a metal one that works just as well as my old one. Anything else?"

Silence greeted him. "Good. While I'll be helping you all find a direction to take your quirks, Kaa-chan here is going to teach you an important lesson in holding back against a live opponent." This drew confused looks from all the students, as well as Aizawa.

After all, Katsuki Bakugo was _not_ known for holding back in anything.

The ash-blond growled slightly. "All of you should know that quirks can be dangerous, that's preschool crap." he said, causing the class to sweatdrop. "The only thing separating us from villains is _how_ we use our quirks. Mine is a good example of a quirk that could be extremely detrimental to a rescue operation, or could kill someone easily if I didn't have a lot of control over it."

They waited for him to continue. "Even when you're fighting a villain, you shouldn't be aiming to murder them for two reasons: one, they could have valuable information that could save more people and two, killing people isn't something pro heroes are supposed to do. Death is not something to play around with, so it's important to know the limits of what you can do before you put someone's life in danger."

The class was dumbfounded. Bakugo had just spoken more words without screaming in a minute than he had since they met him. Izuku clapped his hands to bring the attention back to him. "With that out of the way, separate into pairs and start by brainstorming new ideas for your quirks. First things first though, there is _no_ such thing as a bad idea. Worry about whether it's possible later."

By the time class had ended, each student had at least a rough idea of where they wanted to improve their quirks.

Kaminari decided to work on his electric control as well as his hand to hand fighting, and took Aizawa's advice to ask some of the Support students about a mid-long range item.

Jiro also wanted to work on her fist fighting skills to weave her jacks in between her strikes to throw her opponents off. She also debated on trying to extend the range of her jacks for more versatility.

Ashido focused her efforts on making her body resist her own acid as much as possible, as well as trying to change the properties of her acid after it has been created.

Tokoyami wanted to improve his close combat skills as well as integrate Dark Shadow for a larger variety of moves. He also debated on training at night to improve his cooperation with his sentient quirk, as its incredible powers could prove useful.

The list went on and on, as the students explained exactly what they were trying to accomplish with their quirks and how they wanted to make it 'theirs' so to speak. As they were finishing up, Class 1-B led by Kirishima and Iida arrived.

"Yo, how'd everything go for the first day?" Kirishima said with a smile, before raising an eyebrow. "And why aren't you guys wearing shirts?

Izuku looked down at himself, realizing that he had been shirtless in front of his students for several hours. He blushed a bit in embarrassment, while Bakugo just silently walked over to the bench and threw a tank top on.

"I, uhh...forgot to put it back on?" the green haired man said, sheepishly. Iida sighed.

"You need to get that habit of yours under control. If it becomes contagious I swear I will force you into a mental hospital."

"Oh come on! It's not that bad is it?"

Vlad King entered the room just in time to see Izuku putting on a t-shirt. "Time's up, Aizawa. It's 1-B's turn to use the gym."

"We actually have another 3 minutes, but I think we're done for the day anyway. Knock yourselves out." the Erasure hero unzipped his sleeping bag and carried it on his way out the door. Class 1-A followed him, while 1-B was still recovering from the sight of their new TA's shirtless forms.


	4. Chapter 4

**Welcome back to another chapter!**

**Compared to my other stories, I'm taking things a bit differently. Normally, I have a tendency to focus far too much on the 'micro' of the story where the small moments are heavily detailed. In this one, I'm pushing myself to focus a lot more on the 'macro' of the story, so not only can I tell a complete story but hopefully keep everyone interested.**

**Please let me know either by review or PM which you personally prefer, and why. Every bit of feedback helps me a ton more than you might think!**

**Enjoy!**

The day of the provisional license exam had come and gone.

Despite already having taken the test themselves in the past, all four of the time travellers experienced varying degrees of stress. Most of it could be attributed to Ms. Joke's relentless attempts to get Aizawa to marry her.

It definitely didn't help that the Erasure hero continuously tried to pawn the woman off on the poor men, who knew from past experience that she was the very definition of dedicated.

In the end, the only student of their who failed the license test was Todoroki. One of the students from Shiketsu High School, one of U.A.'s main rival schools, apparently had some kind of vendetta against him which caused both of them to fail. Thankfully, they were allowed to take remedial classes and a make-up exam later, so they weren't going to be left completely behind.

They would, however, miss out on the opportunity to participate in work studies.

"Work studies? What are those?" asked Jiro, hand raised slightly. Aizawa grunted, knowing an explanation was required but still not wanting to do it.

"I can answer that." Kirishima said, standing off to the side in what he called the 'manly corner' of the classroom. "The work studies are basically the same as your internships from after the Sports Festival, but this time you'll be playing a much more active role as a hero. Since you have your provisional licenses, you're actually allowed to act as a hero rather than an observer."

A series of 'oh's followed, and Aizawa began to think he would enjoy having some lackeys-I mean _assistants_-to do a lot of the talking for him. Less talk equals more sleep, and more sleep equals slightly less pissed off Aizawa.

However, some things needed to be mentioned personally. "And so, I've gotten a special request from some of our top students to give you a better idea of what to expect. They're-"

"We're here!" a bubbly voice interrupted him, and the class turned to see a stunning girl with long, sky blue hair and similarly colored eyes. Aizawa simply zipped himself further into his sleeping bag and decided to let them introduce themselves.

Mineta began drooling from his seat in the back of the classroom, mumbling "target acquired" to himself over and over.

The next person to walk in was a broad-shouldered man with blond hair and a very simple face with a particularly round nose. Almost too simple, as his eyes possessed no sclera. Behind him trudged a man with messy, indigo colored hair and slightly longer, pointed ears. His facial expression belied an extreme amount of anxiety.

"Aizawa-sensei let us come in to your class today so we could meet everyone in Class 1-A!" the woman said, before her attention immediately zeroed in on Ojiro. "You're Ojiro-kun right? How well can you control your tail? Ooo, ooo! Can you bounce on your tail? How strong is it? Does it make it hard to buy pants that fit?"

The blond boy sweatdropped at her barrage of questions, but didn't get a moment to respond to any of them before her attention shifted elsewhere. "Oh! You must be Shoji-kun! Were you born with six arms? How strong is each one? Can you scratch between your shoulder blades? I always have trouble with that. Can you use your arms to fly? I can fly too! We could be flying buddies!"

The six-armed man didn't even bother responding, and before the girl could choose her next victim a cough interrupted her chain of thought. She turned toward the front of the classroom. "Hado, you're scaring them." the blond haired man said with a carefree smile.

She didn't seem phased in the slightest. "Oh, okay! I'm Nejire Hado, and I'm a third year!"

The blond man was next. "The name's Mirio Togata! Also a third year! It's a pleasure to meet you all!" he said with so much excitement and with such a bright smile that it almost hurt to look at him for too long. His enthusiasm was almost creepy.

There were a few moments of silence before the final man's eyes sharpened to a razor point. The intensity of his glare sent shivers down the students' spines, and lasted several seconds.

"It's no good..." he mumbled, trembling in place. "Mirio, Hado-san, even if I look at them, imagining that they're potatoes, everything other than their heads remain human. I still can't see them as anything but humans...What should I do?...I can't...say anything..."

He turned around suddenly to face the wall, still visibly trembling with anxiety. "I want to go home!" he whispered. The entire class sweatdropped.

"Umm, you _are_ one of U.A.'s top students, right?" Ojiro asked, hesitantly.

The blue haired woman smiled happily. "This is Tamaki Amajiki! We call him the flea because he's socially inept!" she declared, a little _too_ bluntly, to which the class sweatdropped again. "They call us the Big Three!"

'These people are nuts!' the class all thought, simultaneously.

Mirio waved his arms in an overly exaggerated fashion. "Don't worry about him! He's always like this! Oh! You guys are probably confused. A couple of third years come in to explain work studies that aren't even required. It's weird, right?"

During this time, Izuku merely stood off to the side with his arms crossed. He vaguely remembered these people from when he was in middle school, and he managed to catch them during their first and second Sports Festival appearances. However, he didn't know much other than what their quirks generally were.

"Togata-san," the green haired man cut in, "do you mind giving the first years a bit more insight into what they should expect during their work studies?" With all the attention brought away from him, Mirio's smile doubled in radiance.

"I don't think we've met before! Like I said earlier, my name is-"

"I'm Nejire Hado! It's nice to meet you! What's your name? Do you have a strong quirk? Why's your hair so fluffy? It looks a bit like broccoli!" the blue haired woman interrupted with her own vomit of questions, causing Izuku to sweatdrop.

'Jeez, either she's curious or completely unaware. Or both.'

Aizawa grunted from his place on the floor. "This is Izuku Midoriya, one of the new TA's for the hero courses. He's here along with Eijiro Kirishima," he pointed to the redhead who smiled and waved, "Tenya Iida," the blue haired man bowed slightly, "and Katsuki Bakugo," the ash-blond rolled his eyes with his arms crossed, "to help teach the first year students what it means to be heroes."

Hado bounded up to Bakugo with an inquisitive expression. She barely got a chance to open her mouth for an onslaught of questions before he scoffed and looked away from her. "Don't even start. If you can't handle one question at a time then I won't answer any of 'em." he said with a scowl.

She put a finger to her chin in thought for a solid five seconds before she decided on her one question to ask. "You have the same name as the boy who won the Sports Festival for the first years! Is he your little brother or something?"

Izuku and Kirishima could be heard snickering in the background, which only fueled Bakugo's anger. The students in the audience found it hard to believe this was the same Bakugo who had to be chained to the 1st place stand to receive his medal.

"Grr, something like that." he responded, simply.

"Anyway, it's nice to meet you Midoriya-sensei!" Mirio said, giving a quick salute but retaining his blinding smile. "Actually, I feel like the first years are very energetic this year! They all earned their provisional licenses as first years, right?" He adopted a thinking pose.

"How about all of you fight me at once?" the blond man asked, which shocked all of the students. Some were confident that they could beat him if they all teamed up, while others were nervous.

Hado giggled. "Hey, hey! Togata-kun is super strong, so don't underestimate him!" she said, but Izuku noticed that her expression was subtly more somber than her usual bubbliness.

'Wonder what that's all about?'

After receiving an okay from Aizawa, who merely told them not to kill his students, the Big Three took the entirety of Class 1-A to one of the gyms to do battle with U.A. High School's top student.

During this time, Izuku learned from Hado and Amajiki that Mirio's quirk caused him so many issues that he had to put in a ton more effort than everyone else just to compete. Izuku found a soft smile on his face as he watched the man brutally gut-punch each and every one of his students with unnatural enthusiasm.

Despite his tendency to lose his clothes from his Permeation quirk, which allowed him to phase through things, Izuku couldn't help but see a small piece of himself in the man. Hado found it strange that the green haired man beside her looked so happy that his students were being manhandled, and proceeded to grill him with questions.

"_Why do you look so happy? Hey, Midoriya-sensei! Are you a sadist? Do you like watching people get beat up?"_

He chuckled softly to himself as he recalled her questions. She was a bundle of energy and curiosity, and he found it hard not to sate her curiosity especially when she started talking about quirks. Izuku still kept his Hero Analysis for the Future notebooks, and he was sure to jot down plenty of notes on Mirio's quirk while he had the opportunity to witness it firsthand.

Hado made absolutely sure that he knew everything there was to know about her own quirk, Wave Motion. From firing off blasts of energy using her stamina, to using it to float or fly through the air, not a single fact was left out.

After she saw that each entry had a detailed sketch of the individual, he even let her borrow his pencil so she could draw a picture of herself.

It was an atrocious drawing, but it had..._character_. Even though he was now older than her, Izuku certainly couldn't describe Nejire Hado as 'unattractive' in any sense of the word. Her picture definitely didn't do her justice, so he mentally decided to add his own sketch of her next to her own for comparison.

Plus, if she got as excited about quirks as he did, he could only see that as a positive.

The battle ended with Mirio not taking a single hit from any of the students of Class 1-A. However, he had managed to lose all of his clothing during the battle and had to look for them. The students, especially the girls, were distraught.

Jiro specifically looked more than just a little traumatized.

"Well, that should give you a better idea of what the top students at U.A. are like but it didn't exactly tell them anything about the work studies." Iida said, adjusting his glasses on his face. "The Sports Festival helps the students with networking, and work studies are only done if the student wants to. However, unlike the internships, not everyone gets an offer. Most people have to actually go out and ask to be taken for the work study period. In addition, you have to keep up with your schoolwork at the same time, so time management is important."

After he explained the process and gave a general idea of what to expect, Aizawa ended class a bit early to work on something for Nezu regarding the remedial exam for Todoroki.

That night, the four time travellers found themselves seated at a local bar in town with drinks in hand. They all wore casual clothing, but with their impressive physiques they stood out as exceptional. Multiple women had approached the quartet asking for numbers or names, but they simply smiled and said they were here to talk business. It wasn't technically false, since they each considered 'dealing with time travel' business.

Bakugo couldn't stand the attention, however. After a particularly forward girl tried to get his attention which was _clearly_ focused elsewhere, he had slammed his hand down on the table and yelled at her to mind her own business. The bar was too loud for anyone but the people nearby to hear, and everyone quickly ignored them after the outburst.

"I swear man! You make this kind of thing look easy!" Kirishima exclaimed, pointing to Izuku who blushed slightly. "I saw some of the footage from our little test against the teachers, and you fucking _kissed_ Kayama! During a battle!"

Bakugo smirked as the green haired man's expression became terribly nervous. "Heh, Deku can't give up on his ex, huh?"

Iida chimed in next after taking a swig from his beer. "We actually encountered Kayama-san in the mall a few weeks ago. Izuku walked away from it looking pretty awkward, but refused to tell me why."

Izuku stared into his drink for a few seconds, shaking it in a circle and watching the ice cubes rotate around his tequila sunrise. "It's just..." he trailed off, and the other boys noticed his genuine unease, "things are so weird now. I mean, it's still Nemuri, but it's _not_, if that makes sense."

They were silent for a moment, thinking about his words. "This is gonna sound really sappy, but I fell in love with her, not just because she's beautiful but because of all the memories we shared. Now that we're back in the present time? It...feels like that entire thing is gone. It's like looking at someone you've loved for years and they're a completely different person who doesn't remember a thing about you or what you did together."

Kirishima hummed in thought, scratching the back of his head and looking to his friend with a sympathetic look. "I guess I can see what you mean, man. I mean, Ryukyu and I only saw each other for a few months but It would be weird seeing her every day and knowing for a fact that she didn't know who I am at all."

Bakugo growled slightly. "All this 'feelings' crap is making me want to gag." he downed the rest of his beer before standing from his seat. "If she doesn't make you happy, just move the fuck on. Find some other girl who makes you happier. Don't just sit there twiddling your thumbs like a jackass. I'm gonna need another drink if this shit keeps up."

Seconds after their teammate left their table, a loud crash as well as some screaming could be heard outside. All eyes shot to the nearby window, where a group of villains was escaping in a black van. Gunshots could be heard outside, and the massive panic of pedestrians didn't make things easier.

Sharing one quick look and a nod, all four of the men sprinted outside, leaving enough to cover their tabs as well as a generous tip. Getting outside, they didn't notice any heroes in the vicinity to help and decided to do what they could.

"Eijiro! Grab onto me and I'll get you in front of that truck to stop it!"

"Roger that!"

Iida and Kirishima locked arms before the redhead hopped off the ground. As he was midair, Iida activated his quirk to rush in front of the oncoming vehicle. During his pseudo-flight, the Hardening user used to his quirk to make his body more than tough enough to take a head-on collision and be fine.

The Engine user deposited his teammate several meters in front of the van. The driver barely had enough time to swerve the wheel to the side before there was a resounding _crash_ and the vehicle was completely stopped by Kirisihima's fist. A small horde of villains dressed in black exited the van and began to shoot guns at the man, but the bullets all bounced off harmlessly.

Seeing they were ineffective, the men switched to using quirks such as firing spikes from their hands and creating blades out of their bodies. Before they had an opportunity to get close, however, they were suddenly knocked unconscious by Izuku and Bakugo, who were covered in green and orange sparks respectively.

"I'll take care of the police. Good work, guys." Izuku said, waving to them and walking to the approaching officers to explain the situation. The other three men took the opportunity to keep an eye on the unconscious criminals until the officers could cuff them.

That is, until a loud voice rang out. "HEY!"

They turned toward it to so a woman in a purple and cream colored bodysuit and a purple mask with horns running toward them. Yu Takeyama, also known by her hero name of Mt. Lady, was visibly upset.

"Uhh, yeah? Can we help you?" Kirishima asked, dragging one of the criminal's body next to the rest of them. The woman slowed down as she approached before putting her hands on her hips.

"Who do you think you are!? Anyone without a pro hero license can be arrested for vigilantism if they use their quirks in public! Especially to take down _my _criminals!"

Iida raised an eyebrow at her. "Pardon me for asking, but how are they considered your criminals if you were not here to stop them before we were?" His response caused her to puff out her cheeks in annoyance and wag a finger in his face.

"Doesn't matter! You can't just run around taking down criminals on your own like that! It's too dangerous!"

Bakugo groaned exaggeratedly. "We're pro heroes too, just off duty. Give me a break."

Mt. Lady scowled in her fellow blond's direction. "If you're such a big shot Mr. 'Pro hero', then why haven't I seen you around before? Where's your pro hero license!?" she demanded, to which Bakugo didn't respond in favor of gathering the guns from the scene to present to the officers.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!"

"But you're annoying, and I haven't had enough to drink to deal with you."

"How dare you!"

Izuku returned with the police, who handcuffed the criminals and began the process of arresting them. "All done guys, let's go back into the bar. Oh, hey there Mt. Lady." he said offhandedly. The three other men followed him without another word, to which the woman clenched her fists, fuming in anger.

"Get back here!"

They walked back into the bar before sitting back down at their table. Many of the people inside had left after the villains were caught, deeming it too dangerous to stay in this area for the rest of the night. After waving over a kind looking waitress for another round of drinks, they were approached by none other than Mt. Lady herself.

Her presence drew gazes from around the bar, especially among the young men. However, the scowl adorning her face made them reluctant to go anywhere near her.

"_Excuse me._" she said icily, standing at the end of their table with her arms crossed under her bust. "Who said you could just walk away from me!?"

Izuku tilted his head to the side slightly. "I'm sorry, did you need something from us? Are you patrolling tonight?" he asked, innocently.

Bakugo scoffed. "Blondie here is mad that we took her headline for tomorrow." 

"You're blond too you know!" she shot back. "And you seriously want me to believe you're pro heroes?"

"So fucking loud..."

"Actually," Kirishima said, hands behind his head. "We are pro heroes, technically. We have our licenses and everything."

"Then where are your costumes, huh!? And what are your hero names!?" Mt. Lady demanded, growing more agitated by the moment.

"We already said we're off duty and-thank you" he said, receiving his drink from the waitress who awkwardly reached around Mt. Lady's back to hand it to him,"-anyway, we're just here to relax. Went outside and nobody was patrolling nearby, so we figured we'd help out a bit."

"You didn't answer my questions."

"I know."

That answer caused the woman's anger to flare, and she slammed her hands on their table which rattled their newly brought beverages.

"Jeez woman, calm down. You're making a scene." Bakugo said grumpily, downing a majority of his beer in one set of gulps. "If you're going to sit here and bother us, you may as well pull up a chair or something."

She glared in his direction. "You have some balls talking to me like that. Don't you know who I am!?"

"A royal pain in the ass?"

"Hey! I take offense to that!"

"Princess, as nice as it is having you screaming in my ear, I'd just _love_ to get back to enjoying my night. You mind?" he said, giving her a lazy glare out of the side of his eye.

The red headed man leaned across the table and whispered to his green haired friend behind his hand. "She sounds like Nemuri when she's...you know..._having a bad day_."

"I heard that! How do you two know Midnight personally enough to call her by her given name? And I _am_ having a bad day, thank you very much! Thanks to all of you!"

The three men laughed openly at her, to which she growled. Bakugo groaned again, clutching at his hair to relieve his oncoming headache.

"Would you-oh my god-" Kirishima couldn't control his laughter, and had to wipe away a tear, "would you believe me if I said that this guy" he pointed to Izuku, "dated Nemuri for almost two years?"

My. Lady scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Pfft, yeah right. She may be an old hag and a cradle robber, but even _she_ has standards."

Izuku crossed his arms at studied her with a deadpan expression. "Oh yeah? _Standards_ _you say?"_ His tone was colder than Todoroki's ice, and the other men chuckled a bit.

"You've done it now..." Bakugo mumbled, before Izuku gave her a smirk.

"At least I'm not the one running around flaunting my hero status for free food, or showing off my *ahem* _assets_ on camera for extra popularity." Even if he was ridiculing her, Mt. Lady had to appreciate his pun. So she had a good butt, so what? If you've got it, flaunt it.

"Being a hero is about saving people, not being some celebrity." Bakugo said, taking a swig of his drink and not even looking at her. "If you cared anywhere near as much about the people you're saving as you do with getting your name plastered on every magazine in the country, maybe you'd be higher than number 23."

"That's it!" she declared, pointing at the Explosion user with a face flushed in anger. "I challenge you to a drink-off!"

"What?..."

"I bet I can drink more than you can! What, are you scared?" she taunted, smirk growing on her face. 'He doesn't know that my quirk lets me increase certain parts of my body, including my liver and stomach! He doesn't stand a chance!'

The men shared a mutually concerned look, before Izuku butted in. "Umm, shouldn't you still be out patrolling? I don't necessarily approve of heroes who drink on patrol. Besides, wouldn't that ruin your reputation?"

At the mention of her precious reputation, the woman huffed. "I suppose I can spare you for tonight. But!" she put a hand on her hip as she continued pointing at the other blond, "Don't think you've seen _or_ heard the last of me, you...you...!" she trailed off at the end, growing slightly more awkward. "What's your name, blondie?"

"That's my nickname for you, genius. Like I'd tell you what my name is."

"I asked what your fucking name is, jerkwad! A beautiful woman is asking for your name and you're going to-"

"It's Katsuki Bakugo, fucking hell. Can you leave now?"

Mt. Lady huffed once more before turning and walking away. She hadn't even made it to the door before she called out in a mocking tone. "Don't worry, Mr. Pro Hero! I'll be sure to go easy on you next time we meet!" She then left the bar before vanishing from sight, all eyes on her.

Ten seconds of pure silence reigned in the room before Kirishima and Izuku busted out laughing uncontrollably. Iida chuckled, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Bakugo was not amused, proceeding to finish the rest of his drink and wave it in the air for another.

Maybe he'd go for another five before the hour was up.

"Oh man! She was _pissed!_ That was friggin' hilarious!" Kirishima yelled, slapping his hand on the table repeatedly. Izuku was taking a few deep breaths and fanning himself with his hand to calm down, but he was still smiling broadly.

Iida smirked mischievously at his friend, something that Izuku and Kirishima quickly took note of.

"Well, it looks like you've officially gotten your first crazy fangirl, Katsuki."

The two men roared in laughter, each giving their bespectacled teammate a high five.

Bakugo continued growling even as he received his next drink and downed the entire thing in one go.


	5. Chapter 5

**Yo!**

**Back at it with another chapter. Been taking a few days off just so I don't overload myself with writing. As much as it's fun, I have this tendency to write 5000+ words in a few hours until the writer's block kicks in.**

**Bit of a trigger warning: This story has been switched to rated M due to some dark and occasionally sexual themes. I probably won't go into too much detail on them, but better safe than sorry.**

**Also, I apologize for the mixup last night. I wrote this chapter and posted it, but ended up not liking the way things ended. After a bit of thought, I decided to take it down ASAP for revisions. The general plot of the chapter is the same, but it's a bit less unnecessarily dark than before.**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

"Would any of you care to explain this?"

Izuku, Kirishima, and Iida sat sheepishly on the couch in the teacher's lounge. Bakugo simply looked away with his arms crossed, an aggravated expression on his face at the Principal's question.

A button was pressed and the television was unmuted. _"-rding to eyewitnesses, the group of four individuals was extremely capable and coordinated, as shown by their extremely swift response to the situation. From what we have seen, they appear to be the same group that suddenly appeared in All Might's final battle. Are they underground heroes, or vigilantes?"_

"_Stay tuned for more on this story at 11. Back to you, Yuumi."_

The television was then muted, but a different reporter appeared on-screen to talk about a different story. Kirishima whistled while slumped against the back cushion, and Iida busied himself with cleaning his glasses.

"Uhh, we didn't do it?" Izuku said, looking anywhere to avoid the cold and calculating gaze of the mouse-hamster-bear that was their Principal and current employer.

Bakugo scoffed. "Nice one, Deku. _Really_ convincing." he said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Hey, at least I tried."

Nezu coughed into his paw. "I'm sure I don't need to remind you of what we spoke about when we had our last conference. I believe I _very specifically_ mentioned that you were not to do pro hero work until we had better control of the situation and could explain your sudden changes."

He sipped his tea, a sound that was amplified threefold by the fact that it was the only sound in the room. "Imagine my surprise when I came across this little story this morning. Do I need to restrict you from leaving the campus as well?"

Kirishima gulped. "N-no sir. It's just that we were the only people in the area, and we kind of just...acted on instinct."

Iida nodded in agreement. "I will admit, it's still a bit difficult not to fall into our usual rhythm of 'act first, ask questions while acting'." The blue haired man took a deep breath. "We will do our best to avoid such a situation in the future."

Nezu clapped his paws together. "Wonderful! I'm glad we got this opportunity to clear that up."

The men moved to stand and leave the lounge, but the Principal's voice halted them immediately with its icy tone. "Rest assured, if another situation like this is brought to my attention," they all (including Bakugo) gulped, "not only will you be severely restricted, but I will personally see to it that each of you is thrown to the wolves. And by 'wolves' I'm referring to the media. Do I make myself clear, gentlemen?"

"Y-yes sir..."

"Good. You may leave." However, as they were heading back to their class to take over for Aizawa, Nezu interrupted them once more. "Midoriya-kun, I would ask that you remain here for a bit longer. I have something I'd like to discuss with you individually."

The three men shared a look with their green haired friend, before shrugging and leaving him to his fate. He sat back down on the couch, and actually filled a cup of tea that Nezu generously offered him.

"Now then, I would like to discuss your current performance with your job as a Teacher Assistant." Izuku flinched slightly, teacup shaking a bit in his hand as his doubts began to swim in his head. Nezu chuckled. "No need to fear, though your reaction was exactly what I was hoping for."

The man pouted, though on his face it looked less cute and more strange. At his silence, the Principal continued. "According to Aizawa-kun, you seem much more invested in teaching your former classmates than the others. Do you mind telling me why that is?"

Izuku thought for a moment. "I'm sure you're aware of One For All, correct?" He received a nod in response, and he continued. "I was born quirkless, and ever since I was a kid I had wanted to be a hero. All Might gave me that chance, but that doesn't mean my childhood was easy. Although I kept my desire to be a hero, there were times when I doubted myself."

"I studied every person's quirk I could see on the news, and I wrote detailed notes on strengths and weaknesses, possible combinations, and unique ways to use them in battle or for rescues. Somewhere around my tenth birthday, I thought that teaching could be a good alternative to being a hero myself. It wouldn't be easy, and it would still be depressing to give up on my true dream, but I always thought 'if I could be a hero to the heroes, that would be enough'."

Nezu nodded. "And so you thought that becoming some kind of quirk teacher would be the next best thing to being a hero yourself." he stated rather than asked. "That's certainly a powerful story, and it shows that our society has a long way to go in terms of quirk discrimination, especially against those who were less than fortunate."

A few moments of silence covered the room before Nezu took another sip of tea. "Your performance with your former classmates has greatly exceeded my expectations. In fact, I would like to offer you a promotion." he said, causing Izuku's head to shoot up in surprise. 

"A promotion?"

"Yes. Ever since the loss of our Symbol of Peace, we have been focused on accelerating the growth of all hero students at our school. If we are to combat the rising level of dangerous villain activity, we need the best heroes we can get."

Nezu set his teacup down, looking straight into Izuku's eyes. "I would like you to teach an optional course for not just the first years, but the second and third years as well."

"Optional?" the man asked, but he had an idea of what it would be about.

"As you're aware, the second and third year students spend much more time at their work studies at specific agencies to gain field experience with professionals. Because of this, much of their growth from that point forward is effectively outsourced to whichever pro hero they work under. However, I have decided that this is no longer sufficient. In your class, you would receive students from all years and you would work with them to develop their quirks in whatever way you see fit."

Izuku rubbed his chin in thought. "You're...giving me a lot of grey areas to work with here. You think _I'm_ the best person to help these students improve? Even the third years?"

"I believe that, with both your particular interest in quirks as well as your practical combat capabilities, you are an asset that cannot be wasted teaching only a single class. However, I have one question that I need answered before I can put my mind at ease."

"And what would that be?"

"Have you ever killed someone?"

Nezu's gaze pierced through him, and Izuku flinched. His response told the mouse everything he needed to know. In a silent voice, the Principal asked. "I see...I trust that it was unavoidable or accidental?"

He was silent for a few seconds, in thought. "It's a bit more complicated than that."

The Principal's gaze sharpened further, and Izuku sighed. "You already know about All For One, I'm sure. In the past, I met with All Might as well as his mentor: Nana Shimura. She was the previous owner of One For All before him. I recall him mentioning that she was killed by All For One, but in the past we went to?...That didn't happen."

Izuku was so caught up in his memories that he failed to notice the door crack open, and an abnormally skinny blond man stood in the doorway before closing it behind him. "Even back then, All For One was unbelievably powerful. During the battle that I assume was supposed to end in Nana's death, I-_we_-struck him with a combined blow."

He had to take a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart, as well as the anxiety building within his chest. "All three of us possessed One For All at an extremely high level of power, and the attack...obliterated nearly every trace of All For One."

A gasp drew both of their attention toward the door, where Toshinori stood with mouth agape. "A-All Might!" Izuku exclaimed, quickly standing and walking up to his mentor before wrapping him in a tight hug. "You're okay!"

The man chuckled, lightly returning the embrace. "Thanks to you, Midoriya-shounen. Recovery Girl was not very happy to see me, especially since One For All has completely vanished from within me."

Izuku's smile faded. "And your wounds?..." he trailed off.

"If it hadn't been for your reappearance, there is a strong chance that I would not have survived."

The green haired man sighed in relief. "Thank god..."

"But please, Midoriya-shounen, I'm not All Might anymore. Call me Toshinori, or Yagi, whichever you prefer."

"Ah, alright...Toshinori-san...Yagi-san..." he scrunched his face as he rolled the name around on his tongue. "Nope. Nori-san it is." he said with conviction.

His mentor sputtered. "Y-you're not seriously going to call me that...right?" (A/N: Nori is a type of seaweed, commonly used to roll sushi)

The blond man stared at his student's face, which slowly began to crack into a grin. "No, I had to see your reaction though. Calling you Toshi would sound weird, since you're older than I am. Guess I'll just stick with Yagi." Toshinori let out a relieved sigh.

"Thank goodness..."

"Yagi-kun, Midoriya-kun, please have a seat." Nezu offered, to which the two men complied. "Please, continue with your story."

Izuku cleared his throat. "So, basically we..." he trailed off, and the two listeners could see him trembling slightly, "we k-killed All For One in the past. Nana survived, and All Might never received his life-altering wound."

The air became even more tense as Izuku spoke with a shaky voice. "From there...everything went wrong. With All For One dead, the way people looked at heroes changed. All Might stood as the Symbol of Peace atop the corpse of his mortal enemy, but people weren't comfortable being protected by someone who's killed before. The entire country was thrown into chaos, as vigilantes and villains tried justifying their actions by comparing themselves to you."

Nezu visibly shuddered. "I can only imagine the level of unrest from such a scene...Midoriya-kun, if you're not comfortable telling us this now, it can wait."

Izuku shook his head, taking a few deep breaths. "I-I have to let it out eventually. Bottling it up isn't going to do my any favors, and I have to move forward."

"It became heroes versus everyone else. Most people trusted heroes with their lives, but there were too many who felt that heroes were just powerful vigilantes waiting to snap at any moment. It was difficult to work as a hero at all, and some people were terrified of us. Every time we saved someone, there was a chance that any sort of accident could be blamed on us. The media was relentless, taking every opportunity to create a sense of distrust for heroes."

Toshinori scowled. "To think such a thing was possible...A best case scenario became a bloodbath." He sighed. "I'd say we lucked out, then. Although the sacrifices were...heavy, especially for me, I think our current situation is much better than that. Even in another universe, the media seems to find its way to the center of everything."

"I'm inclined to agree with you, Yagi-kun. Now, Midoriya-kun, do you regret having taken a life? Even if it was someone who could have arguably deserved it?"

Izuku shuddered and his entire body trembled. Nezu and Toshinori shared a concerned look as their former student-turned teacher looked ready to have a nervous breakdown. The blond man reached across the table and gently laid his hand on his successor's shoulder.

"Midoriya-shounen. Everyone has something they regret, even me. Sometimes, we have to seek help from others to move past it. Do the other three feel the same about this as you?"

The green haired man nodded slightly. "We've been helping each other the best we can, but what we lived through can't just be forgotten. It's like a constant reminder of how close our society is to falling apart. The part that hurts the most is that _we_ caused it."

Toshinori let out a wear sigh. "Do not blame yourself, Midoriya-shounen. You simply did what you believed was best, and it had unintended consequences. Based on what you knew, eliminating All For One was the correct path to peace. There was no way you could have known what would happen next."

"I know, but...it still hurts. _So much. _Th-they called us..._murderers_." His voice cracked as tears leaked from his eyes.

The man saw his successor sob slightly in his chair, and walked around to sit beside him before wrapping him in a hug. It hurt him to see the previously cheerful young man be hurt in such a way, especially since this was something that could not be solved by simply using Recovery Girl's quirk on him.

"We're trying to move on, but i-it's not easy."

Nezu sighed, rubbing part of his snout between his eyes. "With the way villains and vigilantes have been running rampant these past few weeks, I worry that we may see a small piece of the nightmare you're talking about. Without the fear of the Symbol of Peace, they believe they can commit crimes freely without punishment being a certainty."

Silence reigned as the two other men took in the Principal's words. "Midoriya-kun, I would like to suggest that you each receive counseling for your mental wellbeing, weekly. Though I will still allow you to teach the students of this school, if you wish, you are part of my school now. I will not push the subject, but you need to readjust to living in this world."

Toshinori looked between the two other occupants of the room, lost. "I'm a bit confused here. I was informed that you had been an Assistant for the past few weeks while I recovered, but not much more than that."

"I am allowing Midoriya-kun here the opportunity to teach his own class for students of all years."

The blond man looked to his student in shock, who wiped a tear, cracked a small smile and nodded. "And I accept, Principal Nezu. Quirk Analysis and Applications class will hopefully allow future generations of heroes to look beyond the surface of their quirks and develop new skills. We will prevent the future we lived through from ever happening."

The mouse rubbed his chin with a smirk. "Quirk Analysis and Applications? An interesting name for sure. It could even be shortened to QA, if you wanted. I approve of the name! However, we cannot exactly fit it into a specific time slot for classes. Because of this, it would need to be appointment-based. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes, sir." Izuku had regained his smile, which in turn caused the other two in the room to mirror his expression. He was like a lamp, covering the room in a cold shadow or a warm glow depending on his mood.

Nezu clapped his paws together with a broad smile before reaching out to shake the green haired man's hand. "It is my pleasure to have you on board, Midoriya-kun." His beady eyes closed and the Principal's smile turned slightly sinister, which both Izuku and Toshinori noticed, sweating slightly.

"However, my threat from earlier still stands. Especially now as a full-time educator at my school, I will not allow you to tarnish its reputation or that of my students with reckless actions."

Izuku nodded frantically, before he chuckled while awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "You offer me a full time job then use it to back me into a corner to obey your threat. You're just as clever as I remember."

Nezu laughed heartily. "Humans underestimate me far more than you would expect. The fact that you noticed my plan so quickly speaks highly of your own intelligence, Midoriya-kun. Do not think that I am lying when I say you are a great asset to me and our students, though. I am truly happy to hear that you accepted."

"Now, let us begin hammering out the details of your new class..."

Several hours later, Izuku left the teacher's lounge alone. Toshinori and Nezu had other things to speak about, and the One For All successor was busy running through hypothetical quirk training regimes in his head. He was glad to be able to confide in someone about what happened, since he still felt like he was struggling to come to terms with it.

He was happy for the distraction as he wandered the halls of U.A. with notebook in hand, mumbling to himself as he walked. It took several minutes for him to look away from his notebook and hear footsteps beside him. Turning his head to the side, Izuku came face to face with Nejire Hado.

Literally.

Her face was inches from his own, and he recoiled in surprise. The blue haired woman giggled. "Hi Midoriya-sensei! It took you long enough to hear me, I've been calling you for ten minutes! You've just been mumbling to yourself about stuff."

He blushed slightly, lowering his notebook and scratching his head in embarrassment. "S-sorry Hado-san. I just get really lost in thought sometimes."

"What'cha thinkin' about?"

The man was almost surprised that she didn't ask a million questions at once. Unsure if he was allowed to reveal his new class before it was officially announced, he thought for a moment. 'Well, Nezu _did_ give me free reign on it...'

He flipped the notebook back several pages before handing it to her. Hado's head tilted to the side with her mouth slightly open in thought. Izuku chuckled, unable to keep himself from thinking about how adorable the expression was.

"Quirk Analysis and Applications? Is this some kind of class?" she asked, handing it back to him with an inquisitive look.

"Yep. I was just given permission by the Principal to teach my own class for anyone who wants to join, no matter which year they're in. Basically, it's intended to analyze and develop new skills and abilities to use with one's quirk. It'll be appointment-based, so it's essentially one-on-one training specifically tailored to each student." he explained, and Hado nodded, expression unchanging.

Suddenly, her face broke into a wide smile. "That sounds like a lot of fun! I'll take your class, Sensei! When can we start? Oh! Can we do it tomorrow!?" She was now using her quirk to float around him in circles as he walked, something he noted she did when she got too excited.

"Tomorrow is Saturday, Hado-san."

"And? It sounds so fun that I don't care if it's a weekend!"

He sighed. "Adults have other responsibilities, you know. I can't just drop what I'm doing to teach on someone else's schedule."

"Well, what are you doing tomorrow?" she asked, head tilted slightly to the side, cutely.

He stammered, coughing into his hand and looking away to hide his blush. She gave him a knowing smirk.

"You were planning on sitting in your house all day doing nothing, weren't you?"

Izuku chuckled awkwardly. "Haha, caught me..."

Her smile seemed to double in brightness. "Well too bad! We're gonna hang out tomorrow and you're going to use me as your guinea pig!"

"Don't say it like that, Hado-san...You make it sound dirty..."

She giggled at him. "You're a lot more innocent than I thought you'd be, Sensei." Hado said, returning to the ground and stopping in front of him with a smile. "I know! We should get to know each other a little before you try to teach me! It might help you think of something! And what better way to get to know someone than to do it over food?"

Izuku chuckled. "You're just trying to get a free meal out of me, aren't you?"

"Hmm?" she looked at him, innocently, "Why would you think that?" she said with a teasing smirk spreading across her face. He shook his head with a quick laugh, before agreeing to her idea.

"Alright, fine. We'll get lunch tomorrow and see what happens."

Hado's giggles intensified as she cheered to herself. "Yes! This will be so much fun, Midoriya-sensei! I'm so excited I could explode!"

"Hado-san, please don't put any more stress on me. Please. I'm already nervous."

She patted his shoulder comfortingly with a broad smile. "Don't worry so much, Sensei! I'll be the best student you could ever have! Promise!" the girl said before brushing some dust off of his jacket and straightening his tie. Izuku blushed at her proximity and intimate exchange, and he looked away. She seemed oblivious.

"There! Now you look like a teacher who's ready to teach! Anyway, gotta go! Bye Sensei, see you tomorrow!"

And like that, Nejire Hado dashed down the hallway and disappeared.

_*Ahem*_

Someone cleared their throat behind him, making the green haired man jump in shock. Turning, he saw the sole female teacher of the school with her arms crossed under her chest.

"A-ah, Kayama-san! What are you doing here?" he asked, timidly. She narrowed her eyes at him before moving closer, causing his nervousness to skyrocket.

"Here I thought _I_ was the one who liked younger people." Midnight said, swaying her hips a bit more than necessary. "Care to tell me what that was all about?"

He stumbled over his words, trying to explain that what just happened was not his intention and that he had no control over what the energetic girl did. However, his words didn't quite come out as intended.

"I-she-uh-we just-h-how do I explain this?..." he stuttered, to which the woman smirked in enjoyment. "I'm starting my own quirk analysis class for any student that wants to learn, and Hado-san just volunteered herself to be my first student."

"And what about what I just saw?"

He gulped. "I swear I had absolutely no control of that."

"Is that so? You looked like you enjoyed it, Midoriya." Her teasing grin grew as she stepped closer and adjusted his collar and tie herself, before tugging on his tie to bring his face much closer to her own. "She could learn a thing or two about flirting though..." she whispered, huskily.

"K-Kayama-san! Please, not with the students-"

"They're all finished with their last class of the day. It's just you and me here."

Izuku's blush slowly receded as he gently pushed the woman away by her shoulders, much to her surprise. He cleared his throat before looking directly at her.

"Kayama-san, I think we need to have a bit of a...conversation about all of this." he said, to which the R 18+ hero hummed in interest, pitch rising along with her smirk. "And no, it's not _that_ kind of conversation." Her grin fell until she wore a concerned expression.

"Teacher's lounge?" 

"All Might and Nezu are still there."

"Your room?"

"And walk past all the students that used to know me as their classmate? The same ones who grilled me about whether or not I'm still a virgin? No thanks."

She snorted in laughter. "Are you serious!? Kids these days have only one thing on their minds, I swear."

He chuckled in agreement. "Ha, yeah. Still, there's not really anywhere private on campus unless we sneak into my room. But then we have to watch out for kids listening in."

She grinned. "Oooo sneaky. I think that option sounds the most fun, don't you? But we could always talk at my place, you know."

"I'd...personally prefer not going to your home. No offense."

"..." Midnight was silent at that, not knowing how to respond to the awkward rejection of her offer for hospitality. 'It's not like I was going to fuck him or anything...' she thought to herself with a small pout.

"Your room it is, then."

Several minutes later, the two teachers found themselves outside of Heights Alliance. Izuku quickly beckoned her to follow him around to the back of the building, where his room stood on the second floor. There was a small balcony for each room, and the man counted three from the left to make sure he didn't accidentally enter one of his friends' rooms with his former love interest in tow.

"Come here for a moment." he said, motioning for her to come closer. She did as she was told, and he wrapped his arms around her tightly, causing her to blush a bit.

"Midori-AH!" she was cut off as he suddenly leapt into the air, landing gracefully on his own balcony. As she was released from his grip, Midnight patted her hair down in case it had ended up more wild than she preferred. He fumbled with the lock on the door before it opened, and he gestured for her to enter first.

The woman walked in and was surprised to see a fair amount of All Might merchandise adorning the walls. Bookshelves covered in various novels lined one wall, and a guitar sat in the corner next to the bed. In her own opinion, it was a tasteful combination of fanboy and independent adult.

"Please, make yourself comfortable. Hopefully this conversation doesn't last long, but you never know." he said, sitting down in his desk chair and allowing her to sit on his _admittedly very comfortable_ bed. She made a mental note to ask what kind of mattress and comforter he had later.

"So...what's this all about? You got a bit too serious for a fun little talk." she said, looking at him in interest. He sighed, running his hands through his hair.

"You know how I said that we-I mean, I dated you in the past?"

"Yeah?..."

"Well, it's kind of about that." Midnight blushed slightly, wondering where he was going with this. She had found herself staring at him more often since the day at the mall, and whenever she did her mind jumped back to the forceful kiss during that test weeks ago. Not long after, she noticed that she touched him randomly whenever she could, whether they were just passing by or if she was laughing with-or at-him.

He seemed to be deep in thought. "I know this is gonna be really awkward, but I just needed to get this off my chest. I...loved Nemuri Kayama, back then. A lot."

Midnight tilted her head at him. "I thought we already went over this? What, is this your way of asking me out? If so, I've had better."

"No, no, nothing like that. I just-" he raked his fingers through his hair again, a nervous habit, "It just...hurts to look at you."

That certainly wasn't what she expected. "Excuse me?"

He sighed, wiping a hand down his face. "Sorry, that was a terrible way to word it. I'll just explain a little. I fell in love with Nemuri Kayama back then, but you and her aren't the same person."

"I don't follow."

"It's really complicated, but in my head-and my heart, I guess-she's a completely different person than you are. I went to class every day with Nemuri, graduated with Nemuri, and fell in love with her during my time in the past. But the world was a much different place back then, especially since our existence in the past changed _a lot_ of things for the worse."

She was silent, letting him continue. "To keep a long story short, the memories I have of Nemuri and what we went through together are what pushed me to actually fall in love with her. In a way, we grew up together. Coming back here, where absolutely nothing is different from when we left? You may technically be Nemuri Kayama, but you weren't personally there for any of the things we did together. It's like...imagine someone you've known your entire life suddenly forgets everything about you as if you were never there to begin with. All the memories I have feel painful, _fake_ even."

Midnight looked down at the ground, hands folded together. "So basically, I'm a reminder that you had to give up the person you loved..." she mumbled to herself, expression downcast. She hated that her heart twisted in her chest. Despite not necessarily _loving_ her junior, her heart yearned for him in a way she couldn't resist. Knowing that her presence hurt him was difficult for her to handle.

He nodded sadly at her. "I'm sorry for dragging you around with my problems, Kayama-san. I hope we can still be friends and coworkers, but I wanted to make it clear that I extremely doubt we could ever be anything more. I may be dense, but even I can recognize a few signs if they're clear enough." Izuku said, which elicited a small chuckle from his senior.

"I was that obvious, huh?"

"It took me a couple weeks to notice, but yeah."

They shared a quick laugh before Izuku noticed Midnight quickly wipe a tear from her eye. He looked at her with worry, but she waved him off. "Don't worry too much, Midoriya. I'm a big girl, I can handle a little rejection."

This didn't make him feel any better. "I'm sorry..."

"Stop apologizing."

"Sor-"

"Stop."

"I-"

"If you say 'sorry' one more time, I'm strapping you to this bed and whipping you until you scream loud enough to wake the whole dorm."

He was silent at that, and he couldn't help the small blush that rose to his cheeks. "You wouldn't." he said, incredulously.

Midnight laughed at his expression before patting his cheek gently with her hand. "Oh, but I would. You of all people should know whether I'm lying or not."

Izuku couldn't help but snort before breaking out into full blown laughter, which the woman couldn't help but join.

"But tell me, what do you mean by changing the past? I thought you said nothing was different?"

The man looked down at his feet. "I'd prefer not to talk about it, if you don't mind." he whispered, and she nodded.

"I understand. Now get me down from here so I can go home."

Little did they know, a full group of ears were pressed tightly against his door, listening to the entire conversation. At the sound of movement, the majority of Class 1-A retreated silently to the elevator to return to the common space.

They quickly sat down on the couches with varying expressions. Yaoyorozu looked like she was ready to break into tears, and Hagakure gently rubbed her back for comfort.

"What's wrong, Yaomomo?" the invisible girl asked.

"He just...sounded so hurt about it..." she said with a sniffle in between. Kaminari hummed in agreement, holding his head in his hands gently.

"I can't believe we just listened in on that. I thought it would be something fun, not..._that_." he said, taking a deep breath and looking at his friends. "He sounded really messed up, guys..."

Ashido nodded. "Maybe there's a lot more going on in his head than we thought. He said he dated someone for two years but...I had no idea it would be Midnight..."

"And what do you think he meant by how 'their existence in the past changed things for the worse'?" Todoroki mumbled, expression grim. "Did he lie to us when he said nothing was different?"

Mineta, surprisingly, had his mind completely away from anything sexual. "Maybe things aren't as simple as he made them seem. We know absolutely nothing about any time travel quirks, as far as I know."

The elevator dinged, and Iida walked out to the sight of Class 1-A with downcast looks. Sensing the atmosphere, he approached with caution.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, simply. The students looked up at him, then to each other, though their expressions did not change.

A few seconds of silence pervaded the room, before Uraraka gulped and began to speak. "Iida-sensei...what exactly happened when...you know...you guys went to the past?" she asked, hesitantly.

The blue haired man was unprepared for this to be the topic of conversation. "What brought this on, if you don't mind me asking?"

"We..._overheard_ Midoriya-sensei talking with Midnight-sensei about...things." Sato said with a frown. This was the only clue that Iida needed to have a general idea of what happened.

"So he actually managed to speak with her personally? That's good." he said, before walking to the fridge and pouring himself a glass of juice. "A lot of things happened in the past. Some of them were good, but...most of them were not quite so nice."

"He said you guys changed things for the worse..." Hagakure mentioned, slumping into the couch.

Iida looked between his former classmates before sighing and removing his glasses to rub his eyes, then putting them back. "It's...not something I'm happy to talk about, if I'm being honest with you all. I will not go into detail, but we basically changed the course of history by living in a time where we didn't belong."

"But nothing is different now, right?"

He nodded. "Perhaps, but just because everything is okay here," he pointed to the ground, "doesn't mean everything is okay here, or here." he pointed next to his head, then to his chest where his heart was located. "What happened...I hope you never have to imagine what it was truly like."

That brought silence to the room once more before Iida let out a weak sigh, one you would expect from a wizened old man and not a young adult. "I beg of you, _please_ do not bring up this subject around Izuku. The tragedies we had to witness hit him the hardest of all of us, and we're all still trying to adjust to whatever 'normal' is."

The elevator dinged again, and Bakugo came out looking tired. Iida waved to him, but the ash-blond knew that something was up.

"Alright, what the hell happened?" he asked, grumpily.

"They decided to eavesdrop on Izuku and Kayama having an important talk."

Bakugo sighed wearily. "Fucking kids..." he walked closer before his gaze sharpened. "Alright, listen up. A lot of shit happened that we don't want to talk about, so don't ask about it. Deku may arguably be the strongest person in the world now, but he's a damn bleeding heart. We watch out for our own, so if any of you go blabbing about this, you'll answer to _me_. _Nobody_ hurts Deku on my watch."

Leaving them with that, Iida and Bakugo retreated to their room in hopes of ending that discussion. The entire common space was silent, minus the dull whirring of the refrigerator and the hum of the lights above them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Back at it again with another one!**

**Trying not to speed through plot too quickly, but not get bogged down in filler. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.**

**Hope you like it!**

It has been a week since Izuku's promotion, and he has thus far only had a few students show interest in his new class. Hado was the first, and somehow she managed to convince both Amajiki and Mirio to join his class as well.

After she bled him dry at lunch, that is.

His wallet cried out in agony as he saw her order one thing after another, starting with a simple salad and working her way up to a full 24oz steak. Izuku had opted for a simple burger and fries, knowing that he would be spending a lot of time during their session fighting. While she stuffed her face with item after item, there was only one thing he could wonder.

'_Where does it all go!?'_

As it turns out, it in fact _does not_ go to her rather large chest or hips. Instead, she burns the excess calories and fats through overuse of her quirk. A rather convenient side effect, if he was being honest.

Despite her enthusiasm, there was very little Izuku could teach the blue haired third year. She already had a firm grasp on her quirk as well as multiple uses for it such as flight or emitter blasts, so practical combat experience was most of what he could give her. Surprisingly, she was not at all upset with the lack of new developments with her quirk, and said she looked forward to seeing him again for next week's session.

Amajiki had been a bit of another story, however. His quirk was both versatile and powerful, and he had excellent situational awareness to go with it. His faults lay with his lack of confidence and overall timid demeanor, so Izuku took it upon himself to do anything he could to bring the indigo haired teen out of his shell.

He thought that bringing him along with Mirio to a local animal shelter would help, and it turned out he was much more comfortable around anything other than humans. Izuku recalled what he mentioned to the boy, who had been petting a nearby dog.

"_Now Amajiki, I want you to imagine something for me."_

_The long-eared boy had a soft smile on his face as he pet the creature, who wagged its tail and panted happily in Amajiki's face. "What do you have in mind?" he asked, chuckling as the dog licked his nose._

"_I want you to imagine that little guy there, in serious trouble."_

"_What!? Why would I want that!?"_

"_Just do it, okay? Imagine there's a building filled with cute little animals that have done nothing wrong in their entire lives."_

_The thought made the boy smile wider and close his eyes to make the mental image clearer._

"_Now, I want you to imagine that building _in flames._" That made Amajiki's eyes shoot open in shock, and his smile vanished immediately. "There are no other heroes nearby, and these animals can't possibly escape on their own. Villains are attacking just because they can."_

"_But that's awful! Who would do something like that?..."_

"_Villains would. What would you do in that situation?" He crossed his arms as Amajiki's face fell even further into despair. He looked uncertain, as if the very thought of acting on his own was terrifying._

"_I...I would help them! Someone has to!"_

"Exactly_."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_That's exactly how a hero thinks, Amajiki. Whether it's for animals, civilians, or anything else, being a hero means having not only the physical strength to save someone, but the mental strength to take the first step forward. After that first step, you've already won half the battle."_

_The indigo haired boy thought for a few moments with his eyes wide. "Is...is it really that easy? Mirio can do it-"_

"_This isn't all about Mirio."_

"_But-!"_

"_It's okay to look up to him, you know. Having someone that embodies something you want to be is extremely important, but you should actually be aiming _higher_ than that. You should aim to be _better_ than Mirio. Whether that's in his combat potential or his unwavering resolve to protect, you should see a small piece of him in yourself whenever you go into a fight against villains. Take that small piece, carve your name into it, and scream to yourself: 'I can do this!'"_

_Izuku placed his hand on the younger man's shoulder caringly. "You are a hero, Amajiki. Never forget that. You've been blessed with an extraordinary quirk and the brain to use it to its potential, don't let that go to waste! You can protect anyone you put your mind to, if you're willing to take a single step. Just. One. Step. Forward." he said, poking the man in the chest with each of his final words._

_Amajiki looked stunned. "A piece of Mirio...in me?..." he trailed off, before his bewildered face turned into a wide smile. "You're right, Sensei. I _can_ do it! As long as I take that first step, I can do it!"_

_Izuku chuckled and stood. "Perfect. Remember that drive to protect whenever you need it, and if you need some extra motivation, just imagine the civilians as puppies."_

Chuckling to himself as he walked back to the dorm, Izuku ran a hand through his hair. It was getting long, and he figured he needed to get it trimmed down sometime soon. Who knows, maybe he would go with a new style this time.

Entering Heights Alliance, he looked around and was surprised at the lack of occupants. 'Maybe they went out somewhere?' he thought to himself, walking to the fridge to get a glass of water. He took a sip, enjoying the cool feeling in his throat. No matter how much he did it, lecturing students took a lot out of him.

Before he had an opportunity to take another sip, his ears caught the slightest rustle of fabric.

"SURPRISE!"

He looked up to see the entirety of Class 1-A minus Uraraka and Asui with party poppers and confetti. They all wore cheerful expressions as they laughed, but their faces fell slightly as they realized he hadn't been scared.

"Aww, you didn't freak out as much as I thought you would..." Ashido said with a pout, dressed in a simple t-shirt and leggings. "And we went through all this trouble too!"

He raised an eyebrow but chuckled. "What's this all about, you guys? My birthday isn't until July."

Hagakure bounded up to him before showering him in confetti, some ending up in his glass of water. "We just wanted to congratulate you on your promotion! Kirishima-sensei told us you're teaching your own class now!"

Kaminari pumped his arm in a cheer. "Hell yeah, man! We didn't get a chance to get everything together earlier, so we're throwing it together now that it's the weekend!"

Izuku smiled. "Well thanks, you guys!" he said, scratching the back of his head with a slight blush. "You really didn't have to, though."

His ash-blond partner turned the corner with a slight scowl on his face, before shoving a bottle of beer into his hands. "They roped me into this shit, so I'm making you suffer with me. Got it?" Bakugo said, holding his own bottle up and shaking it slightly. However, a small smirk could be seen on his usually upset face.

Kirishima and Iida entered the front door with groceries in their arms. After looking around a moment, he deflated. "Aww man! We missed it!"

"You didn't miss anything. He wasn't even scared." Todoroki said, flatly.

"Dammit! Ah well. At least we're all here, right? And why do you guys have booze?" the redhead asked, eyebrows raised in confusion. Iida sighed.

"You'd better behave yourself, Katsuki. Don't make me call Aizawa to confiscate it. Or worse, Kayama. You _know_ how out of hand things can get whenever her and alcohol mix."

This brought the students' attention straight to their blue haired teacher. Ashido grinned excitedly. "Ooooo I bet there's some juicy gossip to go with that! Gimme gimme!"

The green haired man smiled as he fished a bottle opener out of the top drawer and popped the cap off of his drink before taking a sip. "I'll tell you all in a bit, don't worry. I have stories that would make you lose literally every bit of respect for pretty much any of your teachers."

The pink girl and the invisible girl shared a look before they smirked with a glint in their eyes. Mineta gained a perverse grin, imagining all the raw details he could get on Midnight. However, he was swatted in the back of the head by none other than Yaoyorozu.

"So the only people we're missing are Uraraka and Asui, right?" asked Sato.

"Yeah. They're at their work studies right now, but they're the only ones who got one." Kaminari said with a small pout. "Of course the cute girls get one, but none of us guys do."

Ashido smacked him in the back of the head. "You saying we're not cute, huh!?"

Izuku couldn't hold his laughter in anymore. It had been so long since he was surrounded by his friends, and he had almost forgotten what it was like. All For One's death had occurred near the middle of their second year of U.A. in the past, so they didn't have much time before all hell broke loose. The atmosphere in class was generally much more tense after that, since every hero had to be held to the absolute highest standard or risk being dragged down by the media.

Everyone's attention turned to him. He smiled brightly and they mirrored it. From what they had heard last week, their green haired friend was still struggling with the life he used to live. Every happy memory here would hopefully override a bad memory from his alternate past, so the students wanted to make as many as possible.

After about fifteen minutes of getting a dinner feast started and the students asking their teacher a million questions about his new class, the girls sat around Izuku in a circle. The man had gone drink for drink with Bakugo, who had decided it was suddenly a competition to see who could handle more before saying something stupid.

Izuku knew he would lose since Bakugo had an extremely high alcohol tolerance, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. Besides, the ash-blond would appreciate having a small victory over his rival anyway.

"Okay Midori-sensei!" Ashido clapped her hands together, and the green haired man idly wondered when he had received a nickname, "Spill the deets on Midnight-sensei! Oh, and Aizawa-sensei too! I bet he has some embarrassing stuff from his past he'd like to forget!"

Izuku leaned forward with a grin, and he barked out a quick laugh as the girls leaned in closer as if he was telling some dark secret. "So it all started in first year..."

"_Wh-what the hell is that, girl? HEY!"_

_The teacher turned to look at an obnoxiously loud young man with a styled up hairstyle named Hizashi Yamada, who would later be known as Present Mic. He followed the blond boy's gaze until he landed upon one of his students, causing him to sweatdrop._

"_Um, Kayama?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_Is that...really your costume?"_

_The black haired girl gave herself a once-over. "I guess so. Is there something wrong with it?"_

_The teacher heard a _thud_ next to him, and he turned to see a young man passed out with blood running from his nose. Standing directly next to him was a young Shota Aizawa blushing heavily and looking away. "...Don't you feel self-conscious wearing..._that_?" he pointed at her outfit, or lack thereof._

_Kayama snorted. "It's easiest to use my quirk with this, since it comes from my skin. Modesty doesn't matter if it means handicapping myself."_

_The teacher sighed before mumbling to himself. "How the hell did that even get approved?..."_

_Izuku and the other time travellers couldn't help but stare at the woman's exposed form. Her costume left nearly nothing to the imagination. It was merely the lower half of a corset along with underwear and a black belt, which connected to two belts that wrapped over her shoulders like straps. She wore absolutely no shirt, so the belts were the only things covering her bare breasts._

"_Like what you see, boys?" she taunted, winking in their direction and causing all of them to blush. "Don't worry, it's the last thing you see before I kick your asses."_

_They were about to begin a two on two fight drill, in order to practice for outdoor combat. Teammates were randomized, so Izuku ended up with Aizawa against Kayama and Bakugo._

"_Don't think for a second you're gonna win, shitty nerd!" the ash-blond yelled, to which Izuku gulped. He had been stuck with his childhood friend as well as his other two friends for a few months now, and he still hadn't gotten used to the boy's unnatural disdain for him. Bakugo had laid off the personal attacks slightly since they started living together in an apartment, but they came out more often whenever competition was involved._

"_Y-you have any sort of plan, Aizawa-kun?"_

_A grunt was his response. "I can cancel Bakugo-kun's quirk so he's not as dangerous. Kayama-san can take one of us out of the fight in an instant if she gets too close, so we need to immobilize her."_

_Izuku shook his head. "Kaa-chan won't go down easily though, I know him well enough to know he's stubborn. We would be better off taking down Midn-Kayama-san first to take her out of the fight. If we can focus on Kaa-chan together, we can win." he said, trying to play off his slip of the tongue._

"_How do you know Bakugo-kun so well anyway?" the tired looking man asked, before he was interrupted by their instructor._

"_On your mark, get set...BEGIN!" he shouted, and the four students jumped into action. Bakugo used his explosions to engage at close range, and Izuku decided to test his luck against his childhood friend._

_Izuku knew that Bakugo remembered their last fight, and that he was smart enough to not repeat his strategy. He crouched and allowed the power of One For All enter his body, activating his Full Cowling before he leapt away._

"_Get back here, you bastard!" Bakugo shouted, again using his explosions to close the distance until suddenly his quirk failed. "What the hell!?" he said, before looking down and seeing Aizawa's dark hair floating around his head, a sign that his quirk was active._

"_Midoriya-kun, go!"_

"_Right!" Izuku said as he used a building as a springboard to rapidly leap toward Kayama, whose eyes widened in surprise at his sudden switch of targets._

"_Oh no you don't!" she cried, letting her quirk spread into a pink cloud around her body. The area was relatively small, but if she could immobilize you for even a second she could knock you out of the fight._

_Izuku landed a short distance away, creating a crater at his feet before gritting his teeth and throwing a punch toward his opponent._

"_**10% Texas Smash!"**_

_The straight punch caused a somewhat large burst of wind to erupt from his fist, blowing the cloud of pheromones far enough to close the distance and take another swing. Izuku readied another punch straight for her sternum, aiming for a knockout punch. Kayama shifted to the side just in time for it to graze her, but in doing so caused the belt on her left side to crack slightly from the pressure of the blow._

_She tried reactivating her quirk, but found that she couldn't. Sparing a glance to the side, she saw Aizawa with his eyes glowing red and starting directly at her. She returned her attention to Izuku just in time to see him ready a punch._

_As she lifted her arms to block, however, the belt on her left side broke, freeing her left breast from its shackles._

_Izuku's face went from determined to red as a tomato within an instant, and his closed fist quickly opened up in an attempt to stop himself from landing his powerful blow. Instead of his fist colliding with the center of her ribcage, his open hand ended up landing directly on her exposed breast._

_Not expecting the sensation, Kayama let out an 'eep!' before his momentum caused them to fall onto the ground. Izuku trembled, causing the woman to flush and moan loudly._

_A _thud_ was heard as Aizawa passed out from sheer embarrassment, a puddle of blood forming from his nose. Kayama took the opportunity to reactivate her quirk, showering Izuku in a cloud of pheromones that knocked him out in an instant._

"Needless to say, we... didn't win that exercise." Izuku said, blushing slightly and scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

Yaoyorozu fidgeted in her spot on the couch. "S-so indecent..."

Ashido laughed audibly. "I bet Baku-sensei wasn't happy about winning like that!"

"Hey! You can't call me that!"

The pink girl blew a raspberry in his direction. "You're not my teacher today! Besides, I think it's cute!"

"I'm not cute, dammit!" Bakugo half-yelled before downing the rest of his beer and reaching for another.

"Wanna know something else that's surprising?" Izuku said with a shit-eating grin. "Aizawa-sensei is actually one hell of a singer when he wants to be."

The girls, including some of the guys who overheard, gasped. "No fucking way." Kaminari said with a huge smile that promised mischief in the future. Todoroki hummed in thought.

"I've done karaoke a few times myself. My friends told me I sang pretty well too. Maybe he isn't very different?"

Mineta teared up. "You can't be good at singing too, Todoroki-kun! One more positive and all the girls will ignore us for you!"

"But Aizawa-sensei is grumpy and tired all the time..." Sero said, offhandedly.

"Hey, you mind if I grab one of those?" Kirishima asked, completely ignoring the Pop Off user and leaning over the back of the couch next to the ash-blond.

"There's more in my room. You've got a key."

"Sweet, be back in a sec."

Hagakure giggled. "So Midnight-sensei's outfit was even more scandalous before!? It's hard to imagine!"

Mineta chimed in, excited about the topic of discussion. "Oh you have no idea! It's what caused the regulations on hero costumes to change completely! She's basically a trend-setter!"

Ashido hummed in thought. "You know, Mineta-kun. That's probably the first time I haven't wanted to strangle you when you talk about Midnight-sensei."

"Hey!"

Kirishima returned with a case of beer in each hand and a huge smile on his face. "Alright! Time to get this party started! Tenya, you in bud?"

"I think I'll pass on the nonsense this time. Last time we did that, Katsuki earned himself a fangirl."

Izuku and Kirishima busted out laughing at the memory before high-fiving each other. Bakugo growled in his spot with small sparks emanating from his hand, and their friends looked between them all with questioning looks.

"Fangirl? Bakugo-sensei? I find that extremely hard to believe." Yaorozou said, crossing her arms over her chest with a devious smile. She wore a loose sweater and her hair was let out of its usual spiky ponytail.

"Hey! I can get shitty fangirls if I want!"

Izuku snorted. "Mt. Lady was beyond pissed at you, Kaa-chan. You'd better hope we don't end up stealing her headline on the news again, or she'll hunt you down. I've heard from Kayama-san that she's pretty obsessive."

The girls giggled and the boys laughed loudly at their blond teacher's plight. Bakugo, meanwhile, could think of nothing to drown out the embarrassment besides chugging another beer.

"Mt. Lady is crushing on Baku-sensei!?" Ashido exclaimed, eyes glinting dangerously. "Oh this HAS to happen!"

"Hell no it doesn't! She's crazy!" the man in question shouted, cracking open his sixth beer of the evening.

It had only been 45 minutes since it began.

"Actually..." Izuku's smile turned a bit sinister, looking toward his childhood friend.

"Don't you fucking dare, Deku..."

"You wanna know something else that's interesting?..."

"I swear I will end you."

"Kaa-chan can sing pretty well too."

Heights Alliance was filled with raucous laughter and Bakugo's screaming rage for nearly an hour before things calmed down.

That following Monday, Izuku received a text message from Mirio. In the interest of keeping his QA students updated about any changes in schedule as well as having an open line of communication, he had decided to provide his personal cell phone number. He did ask that they not abuse the privilege or pester him unless it was important, but thus far the only one to consistently ignore his request was Hado.

She texted in nearly the same manner that she speaks, making it extremely easy for Izuku to imagine her standing right in front of him asking the millions of questions that were on her mind. He brought his attention back to his student's message, and its contents made him narrow his eyes.

Mirio: Sorry, but I won't be able to make it to our session today, Sensei. Sir Nighteye has me working overtime on a case.

Mirio: I mentioned you to him at some point, and he wants you to come to his agency sometime today if possible. He said it's urgent.

Locking his phone, a mental image of the message was burned into his memory from staring at it for so long. 'I wonder what Nighteye wants. He's only seen me in the alternate past, and even then his Foresight didn't mention anything about us coming back.' he thought to himself.

He had to leave teaching Class 1-A to his friends for the day, something which didn't sit well with them. It was nearing noon, and Izuku took to train to the west side of town. He already knew where the NIghteye agency was located, so it only took him a short walk from the station to end up at the front door of the imposing building.

Walking inside, he was greeted by a pretty receptionist. "Hello, how can I help you today?" she asked, pushing her glasses higher on her nose.

"I think I have an appointment with Sir Nighteye. I was told to meet him here for something urgent? My name is Izuku Midoriya."

She typed a few things on her keyboard before looking back at him. "Of course, you can head right up. His office is on the third floor, last door at the end of the hallway."

He thanked her before entering the elevator and going up. He passed by multiple pro heroes and sidekicks who were in the agency for one reason or another, and their attention seemed to be drawn to him like moths to a lamp. However, the green haired hero ignored them.

Soon, he reached the luxurious wooden door that was unmarked. After all, everyone who belonged in the building knew which room belonged to their boss. He knocked twice before entering, and he was met by two faces.

One was a blue skinned girl with her hero costume on that looked more like a pair of shorts and a shirt that ended mid-breast, exposing a small amount of underboob. The other was a man that Izuku knew fairly well both before and after his trip to the past.

He had green hair with blond highlights, as well as yellow eyes. He wore a grey business suit and wore yellow glasses. Along with his piercing stare, he looked every bit like an intimidating businessman.

"Sir Nighteye. I came as you asked." Izuku said, crossing his arms.

The man studied the new arrival, eyes narrowing. "You must be Midoriya, the one Togata mentioned."

"That's right."

A few seconds of silence pervaded the room, but Izuku was not nervous. In fact, he had been to this office many times in the past so he felt fairly comforted by the smell of high-quality wood that seemed to exist only in this particular office.

"You look quite different than I remember." Nighteye said, adjusting his glasses but maintaining his powerful glare. "Significantly older, if I'm being precise."

"Eight years older than I should be, if you must know."

Nighteye's eyes narrowed further. "All Might had told me that he chose you as his successor mere months ago, and I recall you destroying your own body with One For All during the Sports Festival. If you are anything like you were then, I am severely unimpressed."

Izuku frowned, eyes hardening in response. "Believe me, I am _nothing_ like I was back then. Even you would have no idea, with or without your quirk."

"Care to test that theory?" Nighteye said, approaching Izuku with a stoic look. Izuku sighed before uncrossing his arms.

"Very well. I hope you don't need your quirk in the next 24 hours, though. It would be a shame to waste it. In addition, I could just close my eyes or prevent you from touching me and your quirk would be useless." he said, cracking Nighteye's glare and causing him to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"Interesting. So you know the specifics of my quirk to that degree? Then riddle me this, Midoriya: how is it that you have come to that knowledge?"

Izuku chuckled. "Would you believe me if I told you that the former villain known as Kurogiri is the reason? Surely you've heard of him by now."

Nighteye nodded. "I do. He turned himself into the authorities, claiming temporary insanity at the hands of All For One. Although it lessened his sentence, he is still currently behind bars. He did not, however, go into detail about what broke his so-called 'insanity'. How does he relate to you knowing about my quirk? No villain would have in-depth knowledge without me giving it, and only a scarce few know that many details."

Izuku took a deep breath. "You told me once, long ago. Kurogiri's quirk ran rampant the day All Might officially retired, sending me and three friends into an alternate version of the past. We lived there for eight years before returning, and during that time I met you as well. I'm sure you're smart enough to guess that this also proves my sudden change in appearance and age."

Nighteye was silent as he processed the information, before Izuku closed his eyes. "Also, your quirk doesn't take into account anything to do with time manipulation. Your Foresight can be _wrong_. In fact, when you used your quirk on me in the past, you saw what would have happened to me if I had stayed in the past, rather than return to this present time."

Nighteye's gaze turned cold once again as he towered over Izuku. Despite his new height, Nighteye still stood nearly 20cm taller than he did. "My Foresight has never been wrong before, and I do not believe that you would know better than I. Traveling to the past or not, I have never once seen a future that did not occur."

"So tell me, what was it you called me here for? I had to delegate my students to another teacher for the day to come here, so I hope it's worth the trouble." Izuku said, changing the subject completely. Nighteye looked angry, but he allowed the subject to change.

"Mirio spoke fairly highly of you, and I myself was intrigued when I heard you were teaching a class despite being a lowly first year only months ago. To find out that you have lived in the past for quite some time is a surprise, even to me. Am I correct in assuming you became a pro hero as well?"

"You assume correctly. If you want to be precise, I've been a pro hero for exactly 3 years, 83 days, and about-" he looked to the clock on the wall, "17 hours."

"Impressive for you to remember, especially if you jumped between two points in time like you said. In that case, I propose a test of sorts. You allow me to use my quirk on you, and you need to defeat me in combat. Right here in this room."

Izuku chuckled. "You did the exact same thing last time, too. Very well." He allowed Nighteye to place a hand on his shoulder and stare directly into his eyes. No matter how many times he saw it, Izuku couldn't help but be awed by how beautiful the man's eye became whenever his quirk was active. His sclera turned black while his iris became a brilliant purple with slowly rotating circles around the center.

"What are the terms of the battle?" he asked, allowing his new opponent to back away a reasonable distance.

"If you can land a single hit on me, I will admit defeat."

Izuku laughed audibly. "That's a bit pretentious, even for you. Let's make it five just to be fair."

"If you think you can land a single hit on me, you are a fool. Assuming that you can land five is nothing but arrogance. I already know everything you will do. I have replayed our battle hundreds of times already, and I know your moves by muscle memory."

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." Izuku said, stretching a few times and knowing that Nighteye would not attack first. Suddenly, he allowed One For All to cover his entire body in glowing veins and green lightning that arced off of him. Although he burned with power, Izuku kept it under control.

"**One For All: Full Cowling, 100%!"**

Nighteye tilted his head slightly to the left, where Izuku's fist was now placed. A violent rush of wind followed the blow, as if it had to catch up to the insane speed it was thrown at.

"Even with that much speed, you cannot defeat me. You should give up before you embarrass yourself, Midoriya."

Izuku merely smirked as he threw punches and kicks as fast as he possibly could, creating a deadly dance of blows which Nighteye dodged gracefully. Even his combos that relied upon his opponent knowing his next move were ineffective, as Nighteye contorted his body in seemingly impossible ways to avoid his attacks.

"Heh, not bad at all. Guess I'll have to go even higher than that." Izuku said, grunting a bit in effort as he pulled even more of One For All's strength. The glowing veins pulsed and spread even more throughout his body, and his skin glowed with a bright golden hue.

"**One For All: Full Cowling, 1,000%!"**

Nighteye raised an eyebrow. "I'll admit, I am impressed at your growth with using your powers that you received from All Might. Earlier, you hurt yourself using a small percentage of your potential. Now, you can surpass what should be possible without injuring yourself. However, my Foresight has never been wrong."

Izuku's blows came much faster than before, wind tearing apart everything in the office from the strength behind the attacks. Nighteye began to sweat a bit as his body struggled to keep up with them, but he was fairly confident in his ability to dodge.

The green haired man grit his teeth as he decided to end it. Rather than saying his next few words out loud, he screamed them in his own head.

"**One For All: Full Cowling, 1,000,000%!"**

After a bright flash and a deafening blast, Nighteye was laying on the ground covered in bruises, wide-eyed. "H-how?..." he wheezed, flinching at every movement as his wounds flared in pain. His office was in complete disorder, with the windows destroyed and everything within reduced to scraps.

Izuku was panting heavily, and his shirt's sleeves were torn past his elbows, revealing his metal hand as well. "I found out *huff* that your quirk allows you to see someone's future in real time. If that person can go faster than the speed of light, you'll see it the way anyone else would, after it's already happened. All I had to do was move faster than you could ever hope to imagine, and I landed exactly five hits to different body parts before you had the chance to feel them."

Nighteye sat up on the ground. "But how would you see what you're doing if you're traveling faster than light? It quite literally defies explanation."

Izuku shook his head. "You know how One For All is essentially strength cultivated by one, then passed to another. At some point, I learned that I could do much more than just increase my physical strength. I learned how to focus it into my senses as well, until I could see a fly's wings beating as long as I was only a few meters away. I could hear a baseball drop nearly a kilometer away if there were no other sounds to cover it. And I could perceive things faster than anyone else."

He offered a hand, and Nighteye accepted it to be pulled to his feet. He dusted off his suit jacket and adjusted his tie. "Then I suppose you truly have grown quite strong, Izuku Midoriya. Stronger than All Might could ever have hoped to become. You have quite literally made the impossible, possible. Very well then, I accept defeat." he said, humbly.

"Now then, I suppose I should tell you why I asked you to come here. There is a meeting happening in a few days' time regarding the Shie Hassaikai, a Yakuza group that has been growing in strength since All Might's retirement. Have you heard of them?"

Izuku nodded. "I dealt with them in the past. Their leader is powerful and influential, but he's got morals on how the Yakuza should operate. Normally, he's more focused on manipulating the black markets than causing destruction. Though I'll admit, my presence in the past affected the timeline and changed some things. Villains became much more confident after heroes were feared rather than loved."

Nighteye raised an eyebrow at that. "You will need to explain to me what happened in this so-called 'alternate past' at another time. I am most interested in how time travel can affect the course of history, especially if it can cause my quirk to be inaccurate in any way."

He continued. "However, your information is outdated. The Shie Hassaikai boss has fallen ill these past few years, and he is not expected to make a full recovery. They have been led by a man named Kai Chisaki, who goes by the name of his quirk: Overhaul. From what we have gathered, he is extraordinarily dangerous and far more aggressive than the previous leader. We have been investigating a recent string of drug trafficking that is connected to the Shie Hassaikai in some way, and ever since All Might's retirement, they have grown more and more common."

Izuku hummed in thought, hand on his chin. "So the old man is bedridden now? A shame. He didn't seem like too bad of a man as long as you didn't disrupt his gang."

"I will have my sidekick, Bubble Girl, send you a text message when we have the time set for the meeting."

Izuku looked to the side, having completely forgotten that the woman was even there to begin with.

"H-hi, I guess." he said, slightly embarrassed. "Normally I'm not this rude, but this whole situation got a bit tense.

"N-no worries! Sir Nighteye does kind of command attention in that way..." she trailed off. Izuku swore he could hear her mumbling to herself. _"It's not like I was trying to get in the middle of that shit, anyway."_

He sweatdropped, pretending he didn't hear her.

Meanwhile, Kirishima and the rest of the time travellers had just finished their last class of the day. Bakugo had decided he was going to take some time to visit his family, since they had gotten in a screaming match as soon as he had returned from the past. The redhead chuckled to himself as he remembered the man's exact words.

"_I should just wear a damn helmet when I go home. The old hag loves hitting me for some reason, even when it doesn't make sense."_

Iida was visiting his brother, who by now had recovered enough to be discharged from the hospital. He was still paralyzed from the waist down so his hero career was as good as over, but he was more than capable of taking care of himself at home. This left the Hardening user as the only one of them remaining on campus, since Izuku had some kind of meeting to go to.

'Bastard didn't even let us know why he had to leave!' Kirishima thought sardonically. 'He just dumped the class on us and vanished, even after we threw that party for him.'

Sighing, the man debated on visiting his own family but decided against it. It's not that he hated his folks, he just naturally grew up as the independent type. He ran a hand through his unruly hair before using a hair tie to put it in a spiky ponytail. Two bangs framed the side of his face, but it was better than having a red curtain in front of his eyes.

In the end, he decided to hit the gym. As he always said, 'nothing passes time like a manly workout'.

He's never actually said that, but he figured he could start.

After running back to the dorm to change into a loose tank top and some basketball shorts, Kirishima soon found himself in the U.A. gymnasium. It was a massive room with multiple sets of every piece of equipment once could ask for, tailored for all sorts of types.

In one corner was a full set of dumbbells and barbells, ranging all the way from 5lbs all the way up to 300lbs each. Another section was focused on machines for more control and less weight in one's exercises. The third section was actually a track that circled the entirety of the building, on the second floor. There were a free stopping points with water fountains sprinkled around, as well as a few benches to sit down on.

There was also a separate area dedicated to hitting targets with quirks, but the rooms had to be reserved one hour at a time at the front desk and your proposed training regimen needed to be pre-approved.

After doing some stretches, he walked into the main facility to see quite a few machines and benches already in use. Walking toward the bench presses, he recognized a certain blond haired boy currently struggling with a massive amount of weight.

Kirishima knew better than to distract the man while he was focusing, so he approached and waited until Mirio finished his set. A few more struggled reps later, and the man re-racked the weights, panting.

"Yo, Togata-kun! How you doin' man?" he called out, happily. Mirio was still laying on the bench, but he tilted his head backward to see Kirishima smiling at him from above.

Rather than brightening like he expected, Mirio's expression darkened and a smile did not come to his face. Kirishima noticed.

"Working something off huh? I gotcha. No worries, I'll help you burn yourself out so you can't think about it."

Mirio shook his head with a sigh. "Thank you, Kirishima-sensei, but this isn't something I can just forget."

The Hardening user mirrored the man's sigh. "Alrighty then, spill it. What's got you down in the dumps? You're like, the last person I'd expect to let anything get to you."

"It's...not something I want to talk about, really." he replied, expression twisting into a scowl before he angrily seethed. "If only I'd been stronger...!"

"Woah buddy, take it easy! You'll spoil your workout if you're all angry at yourself like that. Come on, let's sit down for a bit and talk this out. Whatever happened will turn out alright, I promise."

Mirio reluctantly followed his teacher, sitting down at a bench on the outer end of the gym. It took nearly a minute of silence before he calmed down enough to explain the situation.

"I was out on patrol for Sir Nighteye earlier in the afternoon, and I came across this little girl. She was dressed in rags and had bandages all over her body, and she was running away from someone...dangerous. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you more than that. I just wish I could have saved her, but I wasn't strong enough to beat that guy!" A few tears gathered in his eyes, but with a sniffle he angrily wiped them away.

Kirishima pat the man on the back with a sad smile. "You don't need to explain any more than that, Togata-kun, I understand. You're beating yourself up over something that was probably out of your league to deal with alone, but you probably did the right thing in the end."

That made Mirio's eyes widen a bit, and the redhead continued. "I mean, think about it. If this guy is so dangerous, you probably couldn't fight him _and_ protect that girl at the same time. You would be better off having a group of people to help you. Besides, it sounds like you already know who this guy is, so that makes tracking him down a lot easier."

Mirio sighed and nodded slowly. "I...know you're right. Nighteye said the same thing, and even praised me for not acting recklessly, but it hurts far too much to be the right thing to do."

"Better hurt than dead, though." Kirishima said, bumping his fist into the other man's shoulder lightly. "There's some dark stuff out there in the world of pro heroes, and sometimes the emotional trauma can be worse than any injuries you could get. Just take one thing at a time. I know Nighteye well enough to know that he wouldn't let this girl be in danger for long. He works fast."

Mirio nodded, knowing that the man spoke the truth. After all, if Nighteye could turn a joke of a hero student like himself into one of the strongest at U.A. within a year, he could find one girl among a city in no time.

However, something about all of this churned in his stomach, and he found it absurdly difficult to get any sort of rest that night.


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm back, and better than ever!**

**Really enjoying this story, and I'm glad that so many of you guys are too. Lots of stuff going on, but I'm happy to say that I can dedicate an hour or two every evening to writing a bit of a chapter.  
**

**Decided to switch it back to rated T. Although there's cursing and a few dark-ish themes, in retrospect I don't think it warrants a change. I don't really plan to add anything X-rated like smut or mega-adult topics like suicide or sexual assault, so I feel this story is on the upper end of T.**

**As always, feel free to review! I love hearing any feedback you guys have, even if it's just simple appreciation or questions about the way the story is headed.**

**Enjoy!**

'Oh my god. Someone please save me from this psycho.'

This was all Bakugo could think as he walked down the main road toward the train station, followed closely by one Yu Takeyama. It was still mid-afternoon, so most people had already finished their daily commute and the streets were mostly empty as the sun began to set.

Said blonde woman was also heckling him constantly with questions and insults, so they apparently weren't empty enough.

"-ou seriously ignoring me right now!? That's so childish! I can't believe you're such a little bitch!" she said, walking ahead of him and turning to walk backward just so she could look directly at him. He forced his eyes to stay settled on the path ahead of him, but if one looked closely, they could see his eye twitching.

Finally, he snapped. "Listen, Princess! I'm not here to be your friend or your fangirl obsession, alright!? I've got places to be and you're in my way, so beat it!" he shouted, causing Takeyama to growl at him. She was out of costume and dressed casually with a warm jacket and jeans, so any bystanders would just see two young adults yelling at each other.

"Now you're just being a dick!"

"If that's what it takes for you to leave me alone, I'll be the biggest dick you've ever seen!"

The woman grit her teeth in frustration, wagging a finger in his face. "Don't think you can win me over with sex, asshole! I'm not an easy kind of girl!"

"What the hell are you even talking about? As if I'd touch someone like you with a ten foot stick, let alone my own rod. You just don't stick your dick in crazy."

Takeyama fumed, and was about to retort before the sound of breaking glass caught their attention. Only a few blocks away, a villain bounded down the main road with a sack of money slung over his shoulder. The concrete below his feet grew small, flat stalactites that propelled him forward at a quick pace.

Bakugo's hands sparked slightly and a smirk began to creep onto his face, but it immediately disappeared as he recalled Nezu's threatening words.

"_Rest assured, if another situation like this is brought to my attention, not only will you be severely restricted, but I will personally see to it that each of you is thrown to the wolves."_

'Dammit! I can't just sit here and watch this asshole, but if I get on TV one more time I'll get chewed out big time!' he thought, anger rising in his chest and more sparks emanating from his palms. 'Well, he meant I couldn't be caught on TV using my quirk! Didn't say a damn thing about standing in his way! I bet I could take him down with one good punch!'

Mind made up, Bakugo ran into the middle of the road and waited as the villain charged in his direction. Takeyama recovered from her momentary stupor as she saw her fellow blond standing in the villain's path.

In moments, the villain was only a quarter of a block away and was closing the distance quickly. Nearby slabs of asphalt and concrete were torn apart as the villain sprinted at him, and the black-clad man shouted. "Get the fuck outta the way, asshole!"

"How about you come say that shit to my face, you clown!?"

"Blondie!" Takeyama's voice unfortunately caused Bakugo to lose his focus for a split second to look in her direction, and she was mid-air flying toward him looking..._concerned_?

"What the fu-agh!" he was about to say, before she collided with him and sent the two tumbling to the ground as the villain sprinted past them without a second thought. Wincing as small bits of asphalt dug into his back, Bakugo aggressively pushed the woman off of him.

"What the hell did you do that for!? I had him!" he yelled, causing the woman to look at him incredulously.

"Are you fucking serious right now? I just saved you from getting ran over by that dude, and you're yelling at me!?"

"Of course I am!"

"Then why didn't you use your damn quirk, Mr. 'I'm a pro hero'!?"

"Tch!" Bakugo clicked his tongue in annoyance, before looking toward the villain. He was currently being pursued by Kamui Woods, who used his Arbor quirk to slow the man down and quickly trap him.

A finger in his face brought his attention back toward his 'savior'. "Are you even listening to me!? Why didn't you use your quirk? Or was all that tough talk just a bunch of bullshit!?"

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Bakugo slapped the hand away from his face and stood up. Takeyama reached a hand upward, hoping for some assistance with standing. After a few seconds and realizing that the man would not honor her request, she huffed indignantly and stood on her own.

He began walking away without a word, and Takeyama followed until they walked side by side. She looked over and saw the frustration etched onto his face, but decided against asking a third time. They walked in silence for a few minutes until she heard him take a deep breath and a release a long sigh.

"Listen, Princess. I'm not supposed to tell you any of this, but I can't use my quirk in public. I'm a teacher at U.A. and that rat of a Principal would have my head if I end up on TV again. I already got chewed out badly enough that night at the bar; I don't need to add more problems to my list." he admitted quietly, expression still warped into a scowl as he handed her his pro hero license.

The subtle change in demeanor was not lost on Takeyama, and she raised an eyebrow as she looked it over. "You, a teacher? That's a joke, right?" she said while handing it back to him.

'Ground Zero, huh? I guess that explains the sparks.'

He growled audibly. "You asked for a damn explanation and I gave you one!" he seethed, trying and failing to keep his composure.

She laughed softly, her confidence from earlier returning a little. "Watching you try to teach a class of brats is something I _gotta_ see. I bet you'd blow up over literally anything they do."

"You have no idea."

The woman smirked at him. "Alright then, Blondie. As a 'thank you' for me saving your ass, you're going to make me a home-cooked dinner!"

He eyed her from the side without turning his head. "The fuck? I don't need to do a damn thing for you! I could have handled him myself-"

"If you could have used your quirk, maybe. As it stands, you couldn't. Therefore, I _saved your wussy little ass_."

"Like hell you did! And I'm not cooking some stupid dinner for you! I'm not your slave!"

She was already dragging him by the arm toward her apartment, to which the man begrudgingly complied. He had to admit that her grip was pretty strong, and a dinner that he didn't have to pay for didn't sound too bad.

"You live in this dump?" he remarked, unamused as he entered the apartment. Empty potato chip bags lay strewn around the room, dirty dishes were piled in the sink and on the countertops, and a noticeable layer of dust covered nearly every inch of furniture.

"Sure do! Welcome to the home a la Takeyama!" she said, dramatically presenting her apartment with a smile as if showcasing some fantastic masterpiece. He walked in, ignoring the dirt stains on the rug and opening up the fridge to see nothing but tubs of ice cream and soda. Growling to himself, he shut it and opened the cabinets only to find multiple packages of instant noodles and a large variety of snack foods.

"Are you fucking serious right now?..." he managed to say through his grit teeth. His fists were clenched and small sparks could be heard crackling at his frustration. "_This_ is how you live!?"

"You got a problem with that!?"

"Hell yes I do! You live like a damn degenerate!" he shouted, walking over to the kitchen table and wiping his finger only to see a dark streak as his finger claimed the layer of dust. He shoved said finger into her face with a scowl. "This is easily months worth of dust! Maybe even a year's worth!"

He pointed at the sink. "That's gotta be at least a month of dishes just sitting there! I think I saw mold on some of those plates! And have you _seen_ that rug at the entrance!?" Finally, he pointed at her.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're a fucking mess of an adult, Princess! I thought Eijiro was bad, but _woo boy_ was I wrong!" he said to himself, removing his hoodie to reveal a tight long sleeve shirt underneath before rolling up his sleeves and approaching the sink.

His scowl was still present, but Bakugo began washing the dishes one by one. Takeyama tried to find some kind of retort, but found no words to fire back at the other blond.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked, crossing her arms underneath her chest.

"Making this dumpster fire into an apartment, that's what."

"Why?"

"You're an adult, you shouldn't be living like some kid on their first day out of her parent's house."

"I'm 23 fucking years old, I can live however I want!" she shot back with a huff. "I don't need someone to be my dad!"

"You obviously need _someone_ to keep this place clean. Apparently you couldn't even be bothered to hire someone to do it for you."

She scoffed, removing her jacket and revealing her tank top underneath. Normally she wouldn't be caught dead wearing something remotely revealing, but with how Bakugo avoided looking at her as much as possible, she figured there was little harm it could do.

At least he was better company than that little brat she took for the internships, the one with the purple balls on his stupid head. If it weren't for her forcing him to clean everything (which he did a terrible job of, by the way), she knew the pervert would be too busy ogling her to focus on anything remotely productive.

She got changed into leggings and a t-shirt before laying down on the couch to watch some TV. Nearly two hours of nonstop dish clinking, vacuum cleaning, and dusting followed before Takeyama's binge watching was interrupted by her jacket being thrown in her face from behind the couch.

The blonde turned back to see Bakugo with his usual scowl etched onto his features, but he didn't look _angry_ per se. She assumed that was what people called 'resting bitch face'.

"Come on, we're going to the store down the road to get shit for dinner." he said, flatly. Takeyama was about to retort, but the moment she looked away from his striking red eyes, her own purple eyes widened.

All of the trash that had been lying around was gone, all of her dishes and silverware had been hand washed and returned to their places, and her tables and furniture looked brand new.

Her apartment as a whole looked _spotless_.

"Did you clean my _entire_ apartment in like, two hours?" she asked, incredulously. She peeked toward her open bedroom door and noticed that even her room was cleaned. "Like seriously, my _whole_ house!?"

He growled a bit, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "_Yes_, I was _super fucking nice_ and decided to make this place halfway liveable. You're welcome, now get your damn things 'cause you're the one paying for dinner. I'm just making it."

She had no comebacks for that one, and nodded dumbly before accompanying him to the market.

After dinner, Takeyama was unusually quiet. Bakugo was happy to have some peace, since he had pegged Yu Takeyama as a woman he could never stand to be around for long. Her standoffish attitude reminded him a little too much of his mother, but he couldn't help but find her more casual side...tolerable.

The entire time at the market, she acted like a regular person rather than a girl trying very hard to rile him up. They hadn't shared too many words aside from thoughts on what to make for dinner, but they were able to speak civilly long enough to accomplish their task.

He even ended up paying for the ingredients, much to her surprise.

Bakugo picked up their dirty dishes before depositing them in the sink and immediately washing them by hand. He knew dishwashers were a thing, but he always liked to have them cleaned so he didn't have to worry about it later. A few seconds later, he looked to the side as he heard the other blonde stand next to him with a dish towel to dry off the wet dishes herself.

She didn't say anything, too lost in her thoughts to strike up a conversation. 'That's...is this the first home-cooked meal I've had since I left home?...' she thought to herself, wondering how her parents were doing and how long it had been since she bothered to visit. Her emotions were all over the place, and it took everything she had not to pull out her phone and call them that instant.

'This place...finally felt like _home_ for the first time...'

Her expression was downcast until an elbow gently poked into her arm, causing her to jump in surprise. She turned to her guest to see him wearing his stern expression, but the scowl was replaced with a more neutral look.

"Do I need to call the plumber before the waterworks hit?" he asked, cracking the slightest smirk as she pushed him away. However, she couldn't help the chuckle that came to her naturally.

"You ass. I'm just remembering my parents. It's been years since I even talked to them, and figured it might be a good time to change that."

"..." Bakugo looked at her silently for a few moments before grabbing his hoodie, throwing it over his head, and putting his shoes back on. "I'll get out of your hair then."

"Wait!" she said, causing him to turn around with his hand on the doorknob. "Thanks for...you know...dinner." she admitted, blushing slightly and busying herself with looking at the floor in embarrassment.

He stared at her before turning back to the door and opening it. "No problem." he finally said, walking outside and shutting the door behind him.

Bakugo made it halfway down the flight of stairs before the door was ripped open. "Wait, Bakugo-kun!" That caught his attention, as it was the first time Takeyama had used his actual name since they had met. "You said you're a teacher at U.A., right?"

"Unfortunately."

"I'll come visit sometime...if you want."

"...Do what you want, but call your folks first. I'm sure they miss you." he finished, before lazily waving goodbye. "Later, Princess."

Izuku adjusted his tie as he entered the Nighteye agency. He had received a text message extremely early that morning at around 6:00am from Bubble Girl telling him that the meeting about the Shie Hassaikai would take place later in the morning. She also mentioned that today's meeting didn't require costumes, as it was more of a strategy meeting than anything else.

There were even more pro heroes in the agency than usual, from small local heroes to big name top-50 heroes. Upon receiving directions to the meeting room on the fourth floor, Izuku eventually entered through the mahogany door. Idly, he wondered what Nighteye's obsession with high-quality wood was all about.

As he walked in, he saw a fair number of heroes already sitting down around the long table. However, he was surprised when he heard his name.

"Dek-uhh, Midoriya-sensei!" He turned to see Uraraka and Asui sitting beside each other. He was genuinely surprised to see them, but his eye twitched a bit at the woman sitting next to them.

"Oh, hey Midoriya-sensei! I had no idea you'd be here too! Crazy, right?" came the voice of Nejire Hado, whose smile seemed to brighten the room. "I heard Mirio missed out on your class on Monday. I'll have to get on his case later. Oh, and did you read any of my messages!?"

He sweatdropped, holding his hands up in a placating manner. "Hado-san, please. It's good to see you too, but try to control yourself a bit." He then turned toward his two younger students. "Uraraka-san and Asui-san, I'm pretty surprised to see the two of you here as well."

The brown haired girl looked excited. "Tsu-chan and I have been working with Hado-senpai and Ryukyu-san for the past week or so! We had to fight a bunch of villains just last weekend, and then we got asked to be here."

Izuku nodded, moving toward them before extending a hand to the blonde haired hero beside them. "You must be Ryukyu, the Dragoon Hero. I'm Izuku Midoriya. It's a pleasure to meet you."

'Again' he added internally.

She stood and shook his hand lightly. "You must be the teacher that these three girls can't seem to get enough of." she remarked, smirking as he blushed a bit and scratched the back of his head.

"Hehe, I hope they're only saying good things."

"Mostly."

"Oh, haha..." he chuckled nervously. Ryukyu giggled into her hand at his behavior before patting him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Midoriya-san. In fact, Hado can't seem to get enough of talking about you or your classes." He turned to the blue haired girl at that remark, who fought the urge to float around him in excitement. Instead, she settled for smiling brightly and innocently.

"So, what's your hero name? I don't think I've ever heard of you before." the Dragoon hero asked, before the door was shut, drawing everyone's attention to the rear of the room.

"Everyone is here several minutes early, perfect." came the voice of Sir Nighteye, who quickly made his way to the front of the room to be flanked by both Bubble Girl and Centipeder, his two sidekicks. "Let's get this meeting underway then."

"Bubble Girl, go ahead with the briefing."

"Ah! Yes, of course!" she said, clearing her throat and holding a clipboard. "In the recent weeks since All Might's retirement, criminal activities have increased sevenfold both in number and in scale. Recently, many of these villain groups are more organized and tend to team up. This has lead to an increase in what amounts to gang violence spreading across the country."

Everyone was quiet, letting her continue her report. "Those of us from the Nighteye agency have been conducting an independent investigation into the designated villain group known as the Shie Hassaikai for about two weeks. We have reason to believe they're involved in a massive drug operation. One common factor among many of these incidents is this," she held up a small red pellet with a needle on the end, "it's a bullet that destroys quirks."

A few gasps rang out around the room, particularly from the younger heroes. "But, isn't that just like Aizawa-sensei's quirk?" Uraraka asked, looking toward her black haired teacher who sat at the opposite end of the table.

"I already told you, call me Eraser when we're not at school. And yes, it's a bit similar. From what I've heard, it only lasts a few hours but it can be extremely dangerous depending on the situation. Where my quirk simply blocks someone's use of their own quirk, these bullets seem to actually attack the quirk itself." He finished, looking back toward Nighteye to continue the explanation.

"That's one of those damn bullets that got shot at me last week! It took out Amajiki's quirk, but apparently a good night's sleep brought it back!" a large man with little to no neck said while looking at the indigo haired teen that Izuku didn't even notice in the room. Taking a quick look around, he saw Mirio as well, but his expression was darker than usual.

"Oh by the way! If any of you haven't met me yet, the name's Fatgum! Good to be workin' with ya!" he said with a smile before reaching into his jacket and pulling out candy to hand out to anyone who wanted any.

Nighteye cleared his throat while holding up the red bullet that he had pulled from a small case. "Although the effects aren't permanent, the sheer number of these floating around the black market is cause for concern. We were lucky to find one that was intact, since it appears someone has been intentionally destroying evidence to throw of the investigations. However, something even more troubling was discovered when we studied it closer." the Foresight user trailed off, light glinting off his glasses dangerously.

Holding the red bullet slightly higher. "These bullets contain traces of human blood and cells."

A few seconds of silence reigned as people took in that piece of information. "So you're saying..." Ryukyu said hesitantly, "These things were made from someone's quirk?"

Centipeder shook his head. "We cannot confirm that for sure."

"The leader, Kai Chisaki apparently has a daughter named Eri. Mirio encountered her while on patrol, but ran into Chisaki as well. Alone, Mirio managed not to act recklessly, which is what gave us this opportunity in the first place." Nighteye's words caused Mirio to grit his teeth in frustration. "But when he saw her, she was covered in bandages on her arms and legs, and appeared frightened."

The Dragoon hero narrowed her slitted eyes. "Please don't suggest something so horrific..."

Uraraka looked around at everyone, trying to get a read on the situation. "I'm sorry, but I'm a little in the dark here. Could someone explain what's going on?" she asked, timidly. Although she didn't speak, Asui nodded in agreement.

Finally, Izuku crossed his arms and spoke. "What they're saying...is that Chisaki might be using his daughter's body to create these bullets and sell them."

The two girls gasped in shock, with Uraraka even covering her mouth with her hands. The pro heroes looked at him in surprise. "Pardon me, but who are you?" said a short old man in a white and yellow costume.

Izuku chuckled. "What, you don't recognize me? I don't look that different, Gran Torino."

That caused the old hero to cock his head to the side with a hand on his chin. He stared at the man for a full ten seconds while some people sweatdropped. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "You're Toshinori's brat!"

"Izuku Midoriya, but yes. I thought you'd remember me from...you know...Kamino Ward."

"Wait a second, that name sounds familiar." the voice belonged to one of the local heroes.

Another one chimed in. "Oh yeah! I think I remember you from the U.A. Sports Festival. You're the guy that broke all his bones fighting that ice and fire kid!"

The first of the two local heroes looked at him with interest. "But...weren't you just a kid like a few months ago? Did puberty hit you really hard or something?" That question brought a lot of attention his way, and Izuku wasn't sure how to respond.

'Dammit, they all saw me back then! They know I shouldn't be this old! What should I say!?' he thought, frantically looking for a way out of his situation. His savior came in the form of a frustrated Nighteye.

"That topic is irrelevant, and you can discuss it after this meeting. Getting back on track, what Midoriya said is correct. We have reason to believe Chisaki is abusing his daughter in order to profit from her quirk. He possesses the ability called Overhaul, which allows him to destroy and rebuild things he touches. Along with a bullet that destroys quirks, this is an extremely deadly combination that cannot be ignored."

Mirio was gritting his teeth in anger, which was clearly visible on his face. Hado patted his back, but her reassurance fell on deaf ears.

After a somewhat lengthy discussion of how they planned to proceed, the rescue group decided to split up and search for clues among the various cities with any sign of Shie Hassaikai activity. Local heroes were brought onto the scene for their familiarity with some of the locations, while big name heroes would scout the more popular or heavily populated areas.

Izuku was nervous, since he was technically not allowed to be involved in any sort of pro hero work. Deciding to figure that out immediately, he left the room immediately upon the meeting being adjourned and called his employer.

*ring ring* "Hello, this is Principal Nezu!"

He gulped. "H-hello sir. This is Midoriya."

"Oh, hello Midoriya-kun! What can I do for you today?" the Principal's voice was a little _too _cheery compared to the macabre topic of discussion he just sat through.

Izuku took a deep breath. "I need to ask you for permission on something. I know you said we can't get involved in hero work, since it could lead to all sorts of problems, but I kinda...sorta...got dragged into a giant investigation with Nighteye's agency and now they're planning this huge operation and _mutter mutter mutter_" he rambled before being cut off.

"Midoriya-kun, slow down please. It's difficult to understand you when you mumble."

"Sorry, sir."

"Don't worry about it. Now what's this about an investigation?"

"I...can't go into extreme details. It's not that I don't trust you, but something like this has to be handled very carefully, you see. I've been asked to participate as part of a large-scale rescue operation, and I wanted to know if it was alright for me to join them since...you know, uhh...you didn't want us being seen in public." he said, sweating slightly at the thought of what punishment would await him. After his previous experiences with the media, Izuku was thoroughly convinced that Nezu's threat meant double the pain for him personally.

A few moments of silence came from the other line. "I will be honest with you, Midoriya-kun. I do not want you to be involved in this rescue. As it stands, we have yet to integrate you back into society. My original plan was to wait for about a year until the Sports Festival was no longer on the public's mind, and have you and the others slowly make your way into the public eye when your names were not all over the place with relation to being students."

Izuku's face fell slightly. "However," the Principal's voice made him perk up. "Given that you are a professional hero, a very powerful one at that, I will allow it _just this once_."

"Principal, thank you so much! You have no idea-"

"But be assured, most of this decision is riding on the fact that you have most likely introduced yourself to other pro heroes by now. Many of them still recognize you from the Festival, yes?"

"Y-yeah...I didn't really know how to explain everything. I can't go around telling the truth."

A hum of agreement was his first response. "I agree completely. It could be dangerous if the existence of time-altering quirks became well-known, and we are quite fortunate that Kurogiri-kun turned himself in without a fuss. If I'm being honest once again, I believe integrating you with existing pro heroes without revealing your real name to the public could be our best way to allow you to effectively 'overwrite' who Izuku Midoriya is to people."

Izuku nodded, not that the mouse could see it. "Basically, you want me to start doing hero work from the ground up with just my hero name until people stop associating me with who I used to be?"

"Correct! I think that a slow approach would be best. However, we need to do this one at a time and very carefully or the media will swarm you at every opportunity. You are essentially a 'nobody' to the public, so as you grow in popularity people's interest will naturally gravitate toward what they do not know. In this case, they will try to learn everything there is about you."

The thought brought a small feeling of dread to Izuku's chest. "At least the media isn't trying to destroy me this time..."

"That is most fortunate. Now then, go ahead and participate in this rescue operation if you wish. Try to avoid using your real name as much as possible, and do everything you can to make the rescue a success."

"Roger that, Principal Nezu. Thank you very much!" Izuku said excitedly.

"I am trusting your judgment, Midoriya-kun. Please see to it that I am not disappointed."

The line went dead as Nezu hung up the phone. Izuku sighed wearily as he pocketed his cell phone. Walking down the hallway a bit, he noticed the Big Three sitting down at a table with Uraraka, Asui, and Aizawa. Hado waved him over excitedly, and he smiled softly as he approached.

He sat down, and was met with complete silence. Even Hado seemed reluctant to break it, surprisingly. Suddenly, Aizawa turned to him.

"Midoriya. I'm honestly surprised that Nezu allowed you to even be here." he remarked, putting some eye drops in to stave off the dry-eye.

The One For All successor chuckled nervously. "To be honest, he didn't know I was here. I just called him to let him know what the situation was, and I'm lucky I didn't get fired."

Asui looked at him confusedly with a finger to her cheek in thought. "Midoriya-sensei, you're not in trouble, are you? Kero." she asked with a croak. Uraraka was too busy staring at her clasped hands upon the table, lost in thought.

"Only a little, but he gave me the OK to be in on this. Besides," he spared a look toward Mirio, who looked like he was ready to explode in frustration, "there's no way in hell I'm letting that bastard get away with what he's doing to Eri."

That made Mirio flinch a bit before locking eyes with the green haired man. He still looked troubled, but a determined smile from his teacher made Mirio feel significantly better.

"That's right, Togata-kun! We're totally gonna beat that jerk and rescue Eri! I know it!" Hado said, patting him on the back with one of the brightest smiles that Izuku had ever seen. Amajiki, surprisingly, looked more confident than Mirio did at the moment.

"S-she's right, Mirio..." he said, timidly. "I know w-we can do it, we have a ton of pros to help us!"

Being reassured by his nervous best friend, Mirio grit his teeth before waving his arms around wildly in an exaggerated manner. "You're right! We're totally gonna do it! We're gonna do it!" he went on and on, determination flooding out of him to an almost uncomfortable degree as he shouted words of encouragement to himself.

Izuku smiled at his student before he received a text message from Bakugo. Confused since Bakugo rarely if ever asked him anything, he opened the message cautiously.

"_Deku, how the fuck do you handle women?"_

That question made Izuku raise his eyebrow at his phone as he re-read the message over and over. It could be interpreted in a lot of different ways, so he needed clarification.

He typed back. _"Kaa-chan, what exactly are you talking about? Is it helping a girl who feels sad, trying to date a girl, or are you about to have sex or something?"_

Within seconds, he received an angry reply. _"FUCKING BLONDIE FOUND ME AND NOW I'M STUCK CLEANING HER SHITHOLE OF AN APARTMENT_!"

'Wait...Blondie?' he thought to himself for a few moments, before he recalled the night at the bar. 'Mt. Lady found Kaa-chan, and now he's cleaning her place? Weird.'

"_How in the world did she even find you? And why are you cleaning her house?"_

Instead of a detailed explanation, he received a very short reply. _"I don't fucking know! I was coming home from my parents' place and she saw me, now she won't leave me alone. I tried to stop a villain without my quirk but she got in my way, now she thinks I owe her a home-cooked dinner but I don't know what to make."_

Almost immediately, another message came in. _"The old hag says hi, by the way."_

He chuckled. No matter how old they get, Izuku would always remember how Mitsuki Bakugo had a bit of a soft spot for him. The others at the table looked at him with eyebrows raised as he typed his reply.

"_I'll have to tell her hi next time I see her. So what, do you like Takeyama-san or something?"_

"_Shierhufudsfnioiu"_ was the instantaneous reply, quickly followed by another. _"Shit no! She's just watching TV like a bum while I clean her place! It's like Eijiro times ten in here; she can't live like this!"_

"_Aww, you sound like you care, Kaa-chan."_

"_Fuck off, Deku. I'll try someone else, maybe they'll have something helpful to say."_

"_Sorry, sorry." _he responded, "_What does she have to work with on dinner?"_

"_Absolutely nothing besides junk. There's literally nothing to work with."_

Izuku hummed in thought. _"Where does she live? Maybe there's a supermarket nearby you could quickly grab something."_

He received a location ping from Bakugo, and he found that it was near Musutafu central station. _"Perfect, there's a market a few blocks down the street. Just get some pork, rice, a few eggs, and some vegetables and you'll have plenty to work with."_

"_That's the recipe for your mom's Katsudon, isn't it? I swear you know it like the back of your hand."_

"_Yep. Good luck! Let me know how it goes!"_

Izuku never received a reply for the rest of the day. Uraraka had, somewhere during that exchange, snapped out of her funk and brought her attention to her green haired teacher.

"D-Midoriya-sensei," she said, awkwardly.

"You can call me Deku still, you know. I'm not that big on formalities, especially now."

"O-oh. Okay, Deku-sensei." He sighed, thinking that was as close as he was going to get. "It's just...this is so nerve-wracking. I never thought that pros dealt with such terrible things..."

Aizawa grunted. "Being a hero isn't always glamorous fighting and victory. Being an underground hero makes you see the darker sides of being a hero, forcing you to deal with the lowest and most dangerous villains out there. While you're still students, we try our best to keep that side of hero work away from you." he sighed wearily. "But with the USJ incident and then what happened at Kamino, you all unfortunately got thrown into the thick of it."

Izuku tapped his fingers on the table, redirecting the students' attention back to him. "Listen, because of my..._situation_," he carefully stressed the word, "I know a little more than I should about how bad these things can get. But don't worry too hard, you'll be fine. Even you guys have dealt with dangerous situations like this before."

"He's right. Though if I'm being honest, Midoriya could probably handle the entire rescue by himself if we knew where to look." Nighteye's calculating voice cut into the conversation.

"Oh, Sir Nighteye! I didn't know you were listening." Izuku said, leaning back in his chair casually. Aizawa stiffened, knowing that one of the few things that Nighteye hated were people who didn't take things seriously.

"I was just clearing a few things up before heading back to my office."

Hado looked at him with a curious expression. "What did you mean that Midoriya-sensei could do this whole thing himself?" she asked, tilting her head to the side with a finger to her cheek in a similar manner to Asui.

The blond-banged man spared a glance to the time traveller, who nodded. "Midoriya defeated me single handedly in combat."

Aizawa's eyes bugged out of his head. "W-what!? There's just no way...!"

Asui raised an eyebrow. "Kero? I figured Midoriya-sensei was powerful, but I didn't think he could beat a pro hero by himself."

"Do you not know what his quirk is, Tsu-chan?" Hado asked, taking things in stride surprisingly well. At the girl's shake of the head, the bluenette continued. "His Foresight allows him to see the future of anyone just by looking into their eyes! He can basically know every move you're going to make before you make it!"

Uraraka and Asui shared a surprised look before turning toward Nighteye. "You mean you can really see someone's future? I've heard a few stories, but I figured it was more complicated." the brown haired girl remarked.

Nighteye nodded. "I looked into Midoriya's future to see the outcome of our battle. Despite seeing my own victory in it, I still lost."

"B-but that's impossible!"

"Perhaps it is, perhaps not. Either way, the truth is that Midoriya is without a doubt one of the strongest people to ever exist."

The group sat in stunned silence as Izuku rubbed the back of his neck with a burning redness in his cheeks. "Oh, c'mon Nighteye. You don't have to go that far."

"I'm just speaking the truth. Now, I must be going to finalize our scouting schedules. I trust that you will join us?"

"Yep. Principal Nezu gave me the green light, so I'll be there. Just give me the signal, and we'll plan the rescue."

Hado floated around the table until she floated right above Izuku's shoulder. "Hey, hey! I didn't know you were that strong, Midoriya-sensei! You looked like you were trying really hard against me during class though!"

He laughed. "I couldn't go all out on a student, Hado-san. If I'm not careful, I could put a lot of people in danger."

"Okayyyy...so about how much power were you using against me then?"

He thought for a moment. "Hmm...maybe like...10%?" Internally, he added. 'It's not like I can tell her that I can reach a million percent...'

"Woooaaah! I bet you're almost as strong as All Might was, then!" she remarked with a big smile. However, Izuku's face fell slightly.

"Yeah...somewhere around that, I guess."

"What's wrong? Oh! Did I say something wrong?" she asked before flinging her arms around his neck. "If I made you sad, I'm sorryyyyyyyyyyy!" she whined dramatically.

He blushed a bit, sparing a glance at Uraraka who looked extremely uncomfortable. Aizawa and Amajiki looked like they wanted to be literally anywhere else, Mirio was deep in thought but no longer angry, and Asui just watched with a blank expression.

He went to grab the girl's arms and remove them from his neck, but for some reason his hand lingered on her own. "H-Hado-san, you didn't do anything wrong! I just really admire All Might, so the reminder that he's retired still hasn't settled in quite yet. Please don't cry on me."

She sniffled once, then her expression brightened and she hugged his head tighter. "Okay! I'll make it up to you with dinner or something!" she said with a smile. Unknowingly (or knowingly), she had pushed his head directly into the valley between her breasts, and his blush darkened. "Also, you can drop the honorific if you want! I don't mind!"

"A-alright H-Hado..."

Asui tilted her head to the side. "You're pretty cute when you get embarrassed, Midoriya-sensei."

Izuku buried his face in his hands, blushing so hard he thought he would pass out.


	8. Chapter 8

**Yoooooooooooooo!**

**Here's another chapter for you guys. Somewhere while re-reading the previous chapter, I came to the realization that I was spelling Bakugo's nickname incorrectly and I felt like slapping myself. Was spelling it as Kaa-chan (like, someone's mother but in a cute/wanting them to feel young kind of way?) as opposed to Kacchan, which is just a play-on-words of sorts with Katsuki's given name. I know, I felt stupid.**

**Hope you like this chapter too! Hopefully with less silly screw-ups!**

_Izuku decided to visit Dagobah Municipal Beach for the first time since ending up in the past. It had been nearly a year since they had gotten trapped together, and the boys had all adapted well to their situation. Despite their comradery as being time travellers, the four boys craved some sense of independence. This became more difficult since they had purchased an apartment together using a stipend from U.A, so Izuku took advantage of the few moments of rest he could get._

_He took his earbuds out of his bag and put them in his ears. Ever since coming to the past, listening to music became a sort of stress reliever for the green haired boy. He was never too interested in it as a child, but in an unfamiliar world, hearing songs that he recognized (and some that he didn't) helped keep him grounded in reality._

_It was nearing the evening, and the sun was beginning to set over the calm waves of the ocean. Izuku closed his eyes and leaned onto the railing, smiling as the breeze drifted past his face and through his hair. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and jumped slightly when he noticed a rather tall woman standing beside him staring out into the horizon._

_She had black hair and sharp eyes, and looked muscular. Not bodybuilder size, but she definitely knew her way around a workout or two. She was clad in a sleeveless black bodysuit with a white cape as well as a sort of waist-cape. Her hands were covered by yellow gloves._

_Sensing someone's gaze on her, the woman turned to look at him, and now Izuku could notice a small mole below her lip. Overall, she was the very definition of 'beautiful'._

"_Uhh, hi." Izuku said, hurriedly taking his earbuds out and turning off his music. He burned red as he realized he had been staring. "I'm sorry, I-I didn't know anyone else was here."_

_The woman smiled at him earnestly. "Don't worry about it, kid. I was just enjoying the view."_

_He cocked his head to the side. "Do you come here often? This has been one of my favorite spots for a while now." he asked, getting the feeling that he had seen this woman somewhere before. 'But where?...'_

"_A kid like you enjoys staring out into the ocean like he's contemplating life?" she asked with a quick chuckle, "And I thought I'd seen everything. Yeah, this is one of my best spots too. What a coincidence."_

_A few seconds passed in silence, and Izuku couldn't help but examine her features. 'I swear I've seen this woman before, but I have absolutely no memory of her...'_

"_See something interesting kid?"_

_Izuku blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I-I'm so sorry! I just...feel like I've met you before somewhere and I can't seem to figure out where."_

_She narrowed her eyes slightly. "The number of people with green hair that I've met is surprisingly small, so I don't think we've ever met." she said, putting a hand on her hip._

_Taking a closer look at her physique as well as her outfit, the boy couldn't help himself. "U-um, pardon me for asking, but are you a hero?" he asked, timidly. She chuckled._

"_You've got that right, kid. The name's Nana Shimura!"_

_Izuku's eyes widened. 'She's...isn't she All Might's master!?' he stood with his mouth agape, and the woman put her hand to his chin and closed his mouth for him._

"_I doubt you've ever heard of me before, kid. I started as a hero a long time ago, so don't go fanboying out on me now." she said with barely concealed mirth._

_He cleared his throat and his face burned in embarrassment. "S-sorry...I know this is a bit of a personal question, but you wouldn't happen to have met a blond haired man named Toshinori Yagi, would you?"_

_Before he could react, Nana had gripped the front of his shirt and shoved him forcefully into the ground with widened eyes. "Where did you hear that name!?" she demanded, facial expression showing her shock._

'_Her grip is so strong!' he couldn't help but think as he wiggled slightly in discomfort. "I-I know who he is! And I think I know who you are, too!"_

"_Explain yourself, kid. NOW!" she yelled. They were lucky that it was getting late, as nobody was around to witness a grown woman manhandling a high schooler in public._

"_Y-you're the seventh! You should know what I mean!"_

_If Nana's eyes could get any bigger, they would have popped out of her head. She gripped his shirt tighter, face twisting into a snarl._

_Not liking her reaction, Izuku continued frantically. "I-I know that Toshinori Yagi is the eighth holder! P-please don't kill me! I'm on your side, I swear!" He began muttering in fear. Somewhere in the verbal vomit, Nana specifically caught the words 'All For One' and 'One For All'._

_She lessened her grip on the boy, but her shock couldn't be contained. "How...how do you know? I doubt Toshi would have ever mentioned it to some random kid..."_

_Izuku gulped. "C-could you please let me stand up? I don't want to cause a scene." he cautiously requested, to which Nana complied after a moment of hesitation. As he brushed down his clothes, she crossed her arms with an impatient expression._

"_I know this part is gonna be even less believable than anything else but...I'm the ninth holder."_

_She raised an eyebrow. "Toshi never told me he passed it on already."_

"_That's because he didn't yet."_

"_You're not making any sense."_

_Izuku growled slightly as he scratched his head. "Argh, there's no good way to explain this is there?..." he trailed off before leaning over the railing with a sigh. "Would you believe me if I said I'm from the future?"_

_Nana mimicked his action, but her eyes were set directly on the boy next to her. He knew far too much, meaning he was either telling the truth or was one of All For One's cronies. However, she seriously hoped it wasn't the second option. "I've never heard of time travel quirks before, so I'm skeptical. If you're from the future then..."_

"_That's right. All Might, or Toshinori Yagi, passed One For All to me." he declared softly, rubbing his right arm as phantom pains reminded him of his previous failures. "The backlash up until recently was...awful." Nana now noticed the multitude of scars adorning his skin, and she found his story to be more and more believable by the second._

_She wasn't sure which scared her more: the possibility he was lying, or the fact that he was telling the truth._

"_You pushed all the power into one limb at a time, didn't you?" she asked with a slightly deadpan expression that caused Izuku to hang his head in shame over the railing._

"_I-I didn't know any better! It's not like I was born with a quirk to understand any sort of control!"_

_Her gaze softened. 'So he's just like Toshi, huh...' Another point in the 'truth' bucket, since she knew that Yagi wanted to be a hero so badly even without a quirk of his own. Of course, she figured he would try to pass One For All onto another quirkless like himself._

_Deciding to test him, Nana hopped over the railing and let her boots sink slightly into the sand. "Come on, kid. If you've really got what you're saying you do, let's have a little spar and see how you measure up." she said with a feral smirk that made Izuku shudder._

"_Wh-why do I feel like I'm about to get my ass handed to me?"_

"_Because you are."_

_He sighed weakly, following her onto the beach where she stood waiting with a smirk. "Alright I'm here." he said, looking tired already. "As exciting as it is to meet one of my predecessors, I figured they'd be a little less..."_

"_I swear if you say 'old' I'm killing you, successor or not."_

"_I-I was gonna say crazy, but I don't think that's going to help me very mu-UAAAAH" he screamed as the woman burst forward with a fist cocked back and ready to fire. Her smirk turned deadly as he pumped as much of One For All into his body as he safely could before leaping to the side. Her punch kicked up a large cloud of sand that hissed in the wind._

"_Not a bad dodge, kid! Maybe I should skip the warm up and get right to the fun stuff!?" she said, crouching down and preparing another strike. This time, Izuku was in his stance and prepared to fight. However, the damage to his arm prevented him from throwing punches like he used to, so he had recently been practicing using his legs more._

_Bakugo had screamed it in his ear one day after he had gone too far and damaged his arm again. He could still remember the boy's _eloquently _worded advice._

"_I can't believe you're this fucking stupid, Deku! You see what four-eyes does, huh!? He doesn't use his fists to fight, he uses his LEGS! LEGS, DEKU! YOU HAVE 'EM TOO, YOU MORON!"_

_Seeing Nana charging straightforward at him made Izuku realize he was being tested. As she neared him, he pumped some extra power into his leg as he kicked sand upward into her eyes. He took a cheap shot route and aimed a roundhouse kick where he expected her to be, but his kick hit nothing but sand._

"_Nice try kid, but you'll have to do a lot better!" the woman yelled as her fist collided with his side, sending him skidding across the beach and tearing up his clothes._

'_S-so fast! She's REALLY fast!' he thought as he clutched his side in pain._

_She walked ominously toward him, and Izuku struggled to think of a plan. 'I can't go all out on her or I'll hurt myself, but I can't just let her pummel me like this! Think, Midoriya, think!' He racked his brain for some kind of plan that didn't involve seriously injuring himself in the process._

"_What's wrong, little man? I thought the ninth holder would be a lot tougher than this." Nana taunted, cracking her knuckles._

'_That's it!' Izuku recalled one of Bakugo's moves, and although he hated using them, they might give him the upper hand._

_He pushed One For All into his body up to 25%, causing lightning to coat his body and making it adopt a subtle golden glow. 'It'll just be barely enough for this plan, but I have to get close.'_

"_Hoh?" Nana chuckled with a smirk. "Maybe you do have some kind of potential, kiddo."_

_Not gracing her with a response, Izuku kicked off with his left fist reared back. He still had some distance between them, but was gaining ground quickly. As he approached, he saw Nana gather strength into her fist and prepare it for a powerful punch._

"_You should know something like that won't work on-" she was about to throw her punch, but as soon as he entered her range he sent his fist into the ground. The shockwave of the attack wasn't much, but it was enough to propel him just over her shoulder. Her eyes widened slightly at the unconventional use of One For All, but she quickly turned and kicked a leg out._

_However, a powered up kick from Izuku allowed him to evade just enough to grab onto her leg and yank it toward him to throw her off balance. Unable to retaliate, Nana could only twist her upper body to the side in midair as the green haired boy lashed out with a dropkick. During her twist, she used her hands to grab his legs and flip them over so he was the one to land face first into the sand before putting pressure on his back._

_He struggled for a few moments before she released him. "That wasn't bad, kid! You almost had me there, but you left yourself open with that last kick. You didn't know my reaction time, so you should have gone with either a safer kick or a grapple that would have kept me twisted up and unable to fight back as easily."_

_He brushed the sand off of himself and spat out some that had gotten into his mouth. "That *huff* makes a lot of sense, Shimura-san."_

_Hearing her name made her realize something. "So, uhh, a little late for this but what's your name?"_

_Izuku turned back around and sat on the sand, which was beginning to cool as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon. "I-Izuku Midoriya, ma'am."_

_She laughed openly. "Don't be so formal, kid! We're practically related if what you're saying is true! Just call me Nana, okay?"_

"_O-okay...N-nana-san."_

_The woman sighed, leaning back on her hands as she sat in the sand. "Beggars can't be choosers, I guess. So, tell me all about this time travelling BS you've got going on."_

Izuku shook his head and yawned, pouring himself a cup of coffee in the common room. 'Man, I knew we would be starting the rescue early but this is a bit ridiculous.' he thought to himself.

His thoughts drifted back to when he first met Nana Shimura, the seventh holder of One For All. 'She really was just as beautiful as Yagi-san said she was.'

He sweatdropped. '...Just as insane too. That woman doesn't know how to hold back.'

It was strange for him, meeting someone who was supposed to be dead. The fact that she had not only survived when she should have died, but treated him like family only made it harder to say goodbye once they had regrouped with Kurogiri and found a way to return to their own time. Kurogiri preferred to live on his own in an adjacent apartment, and he somehow managed to afford it with some kind of day job.

Also, it turned out that the former villain _did_ have a human appearance, but he chose to keep his real name and appearance a secret to avoid anything being linked back to his wife and daughter. The man was very handsome, with long straight blackish-purple hair of a similar shade to his misty appearance. That hair was usually pulled into a somewhat long ponytail, giving him the look of a very seasoned man who was roughly in his late thirties.

It was a look that Izuku had gotten used to, since the man's quirk refused to activate properly for nearly a year after he awakened from his coma. At first, the boys had been beyond confused about who he was, but it only took a few moments for them to realize that this was the villain who attacked them.

He smiled softly. The man was rough around the edges at first, but after being told that they were in the past he was determined to leave the apartment. Determined really wasn't quite accurate though, the man was _frantically obsessed_ with leaving. After a few times of this happening, the boys learned that he wanted to go visit his wife and daughter despite how many possible issues that could present due to time travel paradoxes and such.

They had had a lot of time to study them during their time in U.A., so the boys knew that interacting with their past selves (who were thankfully just infants at the time) could have serious consequences.

It was rather convenient that none of their actions in the past had any sort of effect on their original world.

After he had gotten the opportunity to see them alive and well, Kurogiri mellowed out quickly. He explained that All For One had essentially blackmailed him into working for him after his family was killed due to the negligence of heroes. Izuku specifically felt a lot of sympathy for the man, knowing that it would be hard to have confidence in the hero system that let his family die.

He took a slow sip of coffee, allowing the liquid life to flow down his throat with the bitter flavor he had come to enjoy. The message he had received told him to meet outside the Shie Hassaikai compound at 8:30am, and it was now 5:30am.

Early enough for him to wake up and warm up, eat a healthy breakfast, and make his way to the northern end of town.

It turns out, Overhaul had been keeping Eri locked up in their compound the whole time rather than hiding her somewhere remote. Nighteye had discovered the location while following a suspicious man into a toy store and using his Foresight on him. The fact that this man happened to not only have a connection to the Shie Hassaikai but also knew the secret to getting to the underground lair in the compound was nothing short of sheer dumb luck in Izuku's opinion.

After a short run around campus to warm up, a shower, and getting dressed into his hero costume, Izuku made his way to the Compound. His costume had received a quick update courtesy of one Mei Hatsume, and the man couldn't help but feel a bit clunky with boots made with iron soles. He did, however, appreciate the added power to his kicks.

None of the support students in the past had thought to do something so simple to his costume, which remained mostly unchanged during his entire time in the past. He had never fully solidified his so-called 'Shoot Style' using his legs to fight until nearly two years after their arrival, and with his increased control over One For All, he felt it unnecessary to add such a detail.

He had tried explaining that to Hatsume, but she completely ignored him. He had sweatdropped as she literally forced him to sit down and remove his trademark red shoes before stealing them and immediately welding a bunch of metal pieces around them. When he had gotten them back a short wait later, they looked more like battle-ready greaves than his comfortable shoes.

Stretching his arms above his head as he left campus, Izuku pumped some of One For All into his body before leaping high into the air. He smiled as the wind whipped his face. He remembered his first time in the air when he had grabbed onto All Might's leg, and how differently he felt about the experience now that he could do it himself. Spotting a medium-sized building with a flat roof, he landed before orienting himself in the right direction.

Looking North, he took a few steps before jumping into the air yet again only to land on another rooftop. The iron soles made his landings a lot louder, but he hoped he would adjust to lessen the impacts. Within minutes, he had landed next to the Shie Hassaikai Compound.

Some heroes were already there, along with a fairly large squad of police officers and an investigator. As he landed he created a small crater in the pavement, bringing everyone's attention his way. He chuckled nervously and scratched his head in embarrassment at the unwanted attention before making his way closer to the crowd.

Izuku decided to close his eyes and wait for the rest of the rescue group to arrive, since it was only 8:15am and there was plenty of time to get his mind together.

"Midoriya-san!" He was brought out of his thoughts fairly quickly by the soft voice of Ryukyu. Turning in her direction, he smiled.

"Ah, hello Ryukyu-san. Please, while we're out here you can call me by my hero name: Deku."

She raised an eyebrow. "Deku? You mean like, 'useless'? That's an interesting hero name." The blonde woman crossed her arms.

He chuckled. "It is, but there's a lot of history behind it. A friend of mine once said it sounded a lot like Dekiru, which is a bit like 'you can do it!'. I guess it sorta just stuck with me from there."

She nodded at his explanation before turning to look at the massive compound they were about to infiltrate. "So this is really happening, huh?" More heroes had arrived and were beginning their own preparations for the assault. "This is big, even for the Yakuza. I'm worried about the students; they're not ready for this kind of thing."

Izuku shook his head. "It's depressing to think too hard about it, but those kids have been in situations just as bad as this one. A few of them..." he trailed off, looking down, "...a few of them have been through a lot worse."

She looked at him curiously. "By the way, I'm a bit curious about what they talked about in the meeting. You were a first-year during the Sports Festival, right? How did you go from that to becoming a teacher in a few months?"

Izuku sighed, motioning for her to get a bit closer. "This whole thing is one giant mess, but I feel like I can trust you. You're already suspicious, so being weird about it would just make it harder." She tried as hard as she could to shuffle closer without looking awkward, and he whispered into her ear.

"Me and three friends were there at Kamino Ward when that whole thing went down." That alone made Ryukyu's eyes widen, but she held her questions as he continued. "I'll try to keep it short. Basically we tried to escape, got attacked by a villain with a warp quirk, almost beat him but his quirk went crazy. All five of us got sent fifteen years into the past, and now we found a way back but nothing is different except us."

Her eyes bugged out of her head as she stared wide-eyed at him. "Y-you're serious!?" she asked, incredulously. He nodded. "S-so you're saying you're actually an adult now!?"

"Yep. I'll turn 24 in about eight months based on this world's calendar, but in terms of my actual time I only have another four months. Time travel really messes with stuff like that."

She stared slack-jawed at the green haired man, who openly laughed at her. "Why are you so calm about this!?" she asked.

"The rescue, or the time travelling?"

"Both!"

He chuckled softly. "I got over the whole 'I'm an adult when I shouldn't be' thing pretty quickly, actually. I lived in the past for eight years, so it's not like that time just vanished." His face fell. "The rescue part?...It's because I've dealt with things so much worse than this that it can't even compare."

She was silent at that, noticing his discomfort about the subject.

"I'm only trusting you because I knew you in the past." he admitted, grabbing her attention once again. "You're a good person, and you know better than to spread gossip around."

The blonde woman nodded at him. "This isn't something you want everyone to know, am I right?"

"That would be correct. The knowledge that time manipulation quirks exist could throw a whole lot of things out of order. It's better that I essentially remain anonymous for a while until Izuku Midoriya is completely forgotten. That way, I can just live my life without people asking questions."

"I'll just call you Deku from now on, then. People won't recognize the hero name, so you should be safe."

"I appreciate it, Ryukyu-san"

"Just call me Ryukyu, it keeps things easier."

Not long after, the entire rescue group was assembled and waiting for the signal. Hado was surprisingly subdued, Amajiki looked understandably nervous, and Mirio looked determined. Uraraka and Asui both tried to keep each other calm, but their nerves were starting to show.

Seeing her teacher smiling along with Ryukyu made Uraraka's chest feel heavy. Asui noticed, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Is something wrong, Ochaco-chan? You don't look very good."

The brown haired girl shook her head. "Its...nothing, Tsu-chan."

However, the frog girl followed Uraraka's line of sight and understood immediately. "You still like him, don't you?" she asked, bluntly. Uraraka blushed a bit, but she didn't panic like she usually did.

"I...don't know anymore. He's lived eight whole years without us, but to us it was only a day. He comes back like _this_, and I never had time to even figure out what the heck is going on in my heart."

Asui hummed in thought. "The fact that you're not even denying that you might like him means something on its own, kero. Are you going to confess? If you don't, you might have a few rivals. Ryukyu and Hado-senpai warmed up to him pretty quickly."

Uraraka looked down, clenching a fist to her chest. "I-I know that, but how am I supposed to tell him how I feel...when I don't even know _what_ I'm feeling?..." she asked, tears gathering in her eyes.

"Maybe you'll figure it out on your own. Or maybe you should talk to Midnight-sensei, she definitely knows more about this kind of thing. Even if she'd probably tease you relentlessly for it, kero." Uraraka could do nothing but nod at that, and consider it for later.

Assuming everyone made it out of this rescue alive, that is.

"Alright everyone, we're about to head inside. Remember, no attacking unless you're attacked first. We may have a search warrant, but we can't go around beating up these guys just because they're known criminals." the investigator said as he held out the warrant.

He was about to press the button for the intercom, but the doorway was suddenly smashed from the inside by a massive hulk of a man with a black plague doctor mask over his face. He was easily as big as the gateway itself.

Izuku had to catch two officers that were sent flying from the gate, and after checking to see if they were okay, ran back to the others.

"All these people here so early in the morning! WHAT DO YOU WANT!?" the massive man yelled, throwing a punch that would have shattered steel if not for Ryukyu catching his fist in her dragon form. No matter how many times he saw it, Izuku couldn't help but be amazed at her transformation.

"We shouldn't keep everyone here! Ryukyu agency will handle this, go!" she shouted before using her superior size to crush the attacker into the ground underfoot.

"C'mon, let's go! Everybody else, inside!" Fatgum yelled, waving toward the entrance. Officers and heroes alike rushed inside only to be met by a small horde of thugs. The investigator began reading from the warrant.

"This is the police! We have reason to believe that the Shie Hassaikai is involved in illegal drug trafficking! Do not resist!" he shouted as he ran.

"Who cares!?" one of the thugs yelled back, before using his quirk to manipulate a nearby bush to send razor sharp needles toward the invaders. Officers with riot shields blocked them to keep everyone safe.

Izuku ran beside Mirio, who looked like he was itching to run even faster and leave everyone else in the dust. "Midoriya-sensei, let's do this!" the blond yelled, "Just you wait, Eri-chan...I'm definitely going to save you this time!"

"No. _We're_ going to save her!" Izuku corrected, to which Mirio cracked a small smile.

After fighting through another small group of Yakuza thugs, the group came upon a long hallway. "Hold on." Nighteye said, turning to the side where a small ledge was present and a potted plant sat. He removed the plant and began pressing down on specific wooden planks in order. Soon, the wall opened up to reveal hidden underground passage.

"Woah...to think they had something like this hidden inside of their Compound..." Fatgum exclaimed. Mirio didn't even think twice before sprinting down the stairs, followed by the others.

Eventually they reached a dead end. "What the- There isn't supposed to be a wall here!" Rock Lock shouted, turning to Nighteye. "You said this hallway was supposed to keep going and fork left and right!"

Mirio stepped up and phased through the wall to look to the other side before returning. "He's right, the hallway keeps going but this wall is nearly a meter thick."

Fatgum thought for a moment. "The only one who could have done this is Irinaka with his Mimicry quirk! He must have taken control of the entire underground, but I thought he could only control things about the size of a refrigerator!"

Rock Lock clicked his tongue. "Tch. With enough Trigger, he could probably warp the whole Compound. It won't last forever, but he'll make getting to Eri a lot harder!"

"I'll go through and slow them down! If they're trying to escape, this villain can't stop me with his quirk!" Mirio shouted as he immediately ran through the wall, ignoring Izuku's cry to wait. The green haired man growled and grit his teeth.

"Dammit!" he yelled as he charged One For All up to 20% and lashed out with a fierce kick that shattered the wall completely. Wasting no time, he began to sprint down the hallway. "I'll catch up with him and keep Mirio out of trouble!" he shouted behind him.

Before anyone else had the opportunity to move, the ground opened up and the rest of the heroes and officers fell through the floor. Moments later, it closed as if it was never there to begin with. Izuku's eyes widened, but he kept running as fast as his legs would let him. Surprisingly, Mimic didn't attempt to stop him.

He soon caught up to Mirio, who was beginning to look frustrated. "Mirio-kun! Everyone else got split up, so it's just you and me!"

"We can do it! I know we can! Just wait for us, Eri-chan..." he said to himself, trying to stay in control of his emotions. Izuku grabbed his shoulder and yanked him to stop moving. Mirio glared at him with rage and confusion.

"Mirio-kun, keep your head in the game alright? We're here to save Eri, not take down Overhaul."

"I know, now let's keep moving!"

It didn't take them long to see two figures down the hallway. One was carrying a small girl with silver hair that had a small horn protruding from her temple. "That's them!" Mirio whispered loudly, increasing his speed despite possibly alerting them to his presence.

As Izuku got closer, he could make out the details of the two. One wore a long lab coat and a hood, and the other wore black dress clothes covered by a green bomber jacket lined with purple fur at the collar. Both wore plague doctor masks, a key sign that they were the elite of the Shie Hassaikai.

"It looks like we've caught up with you." Mirio stated as the two men turned toward him.

Overhaul's gaze scanned over the two heroes, but settled on Lemillion. "You again..." he mumbled to himself. "Catching up shouldn't have been easy."

"I took a bit of a shortcut, but now I'm here to save her!" Mirio said, expression hardening.

"You're just a kid, trying to be a hero. It's not like this girl expects you to save her, you're just going to die anyway." Overhaul said, turning away and continuing to walk away. "Last time, you turned a blind eye to the situation. To her? You're no hero at all."

Izuku took a step forward, but he suddenly leapt backward as a bullet impact the ground where his feet were. Looking up, he saw the man in the lab coat holding a gun whose barrel was smoking. "Mirio-kun, don't let him get to you! We can beat these guys together!"

The green haired man grit his teeth. 'I can't use most of my powerful moves or I'll risk hurting the girl. Mirio knows that too, for sure. We have to get her away from those guys first!' he thought to himself.

Mirio wasted no time with sprinting forward, but as he got closer he suddenly stumbled into the wall. Hearing laughter from up above, Izuku saw a man hanging upside down using the pipes in the ceiling. He also had a plague doctor mask and was attempting to drink a bottle of liquor upside down.

"Hahaha! Feeling a bit drunk, are ya!? Like you can't stand up straight!?" the man yelled. "Me neither, that's why I'm up here!"

Izuku's mind ran a mile a minute. "Mirio, stay away from him! His quirk must mess with your balance!"

"And who might you be?" the coated man with the gun asked.

Before he had any time to think, Izuku found himself replying. "I'm Izuku Midoriya!" He was shocked at the words coming out of his mouth. He hadn't wanted to reveal anything about himself, but for some reason he couldn't help it.

'It must be his quirk!'

"Indeed? And what is your quirk?" he asked toward Mirio.

"It's Permeation! It allows me to pass through things!"

"Hoh? So that's how you got past Mimic and the others. Interesting."

"Watch out, Mirio! He can force you to admit things!" Izuku yelled before pumping 20% of One For All into his body and rushing forward by bouncing off the walls erratically.

"Stay still, you bug!" the man said as he tried to line up a shot. Izuku was unaffected by the drunk man's quirk as soon as he made it a small distance away, and he swung a fist toward Overhaul who simply raised his hand to cause the floor to bend into a makeshift shield. His superior speed allowed him to grab the side of the raised ground and use his momentum to swing himself around it with a kick.

Overhaul wasn't expecting it, and took a strike to the shoulder which knocked him back several meters. "Master!" the hooded man said, taking aim at the now immobile Izuku. As soon as he fired, however, Izuku jumped to the side. Mirio, who had managed to make his way closer despite his balance being thrown off, ran forward.

As soon as he was about to reach for the girl, the hooded man aimed at Mirio and fired. However, the bullet phased right through him. Mirio took that small window of opportunity to phase through the man's body, turning himself impermeable to grab Eri from his arms and continue to run.

"Oh no you don't!" the Yakuza boss yelled, placing his hand on the ground and causing the walls and floor to become concrete spikes intent on impaling the heroes.

Izuku attempted to get closer to Chisaki but the spikes forced him to evade rather than attack. "Mirio-kun!"

"I've got her!"

"Quick, take her and run!"

"What about you!?" the blond haired man yelled as he began to run.

"I'll be fine! Don't worry about me!"

The hooded man aimed toward Mirio, but Izuku powered his Full Cowling up to 50% and flicked his finger toward him, knocking the man to the ground with the wind blast. Overhaul used his quirk to reshape the underground, making it impossible for Mirio to escape with Eri.

"You can't get away from me, heroes! You can't take her with you!" he exclaimed, expression turning furious behind his mask. Izuku sent a high powered punch his way, sending Overhaul further down the hallway with the wind blast. 'Maybe if I knock him out, we can get out of here!'

"Midoriya-sensei! Can you hold them off!?" Mirio cried, turning back toward his teacher with a frantic gaze. The drunk man had fallen from the ceiling in all the commotion, and his own quirk caused him to stumble aimlessly around the underground.

"You're a fool if you think you can defeat all of us at once, hero!" the hooded man screamed, lifting himself off the ground and reaching for the gun. Before Izuku could react, the floor reshaped itself around Izuku's body, trapping him.

For a moment, all was silent as the walls quickly crushed the man. Overhaul and the hooded man stood, brushing their clothes off. "Good work, Mimic. It took you too long to get back here." Chisaki said.

An angry-looking face appeared in the wall beside him. "It took some time, but I blocked the intruders long enough to make my way here." The face winced in pain. "I-I'm running out of steam."

"That's enough, Mimic. You've done plenty." Overhaul said, walking toward Mirio, who was trapped between the villains and a wall. "You have nowhere left to run, hero. Give up the girl and die like a good little boy."

"Never!" he clutched Eri tighter, and she buried her face into his chest with tears streaming down her face.

"You won't have much of a choice, will you?" the hooded man said, walking ominously toward him with the gun pointed right at him.

Suddenly, the pillar that was created by Mimic's quirk burst open to reveal a panting Izuku. Green lightning surged over his body and he glowed a bright golden color. "Don't turn your backs on me!" he screamed before leaping toward the face in the wall and spinning into a roundhouse kick.

"**100% St. Louis Smash!"**

The kick collided with Mimic's face, knocking him out instantly. His body formed out of the wall and fell to the ground, unconscious. Overhaul used his quirk to reshape the ceiling above Mirio and Eri into a pillar right between their arms, forcing the two apart. The hooded man loaded a different bullet into the chamber before taking aim at someone they didn't expect.

He was pointing it directly at Eri.

"No!" Mirio yelled, leaping in front of her.

Izuku's mind raged. 'That was one of those quirk erasing bullets! I can't let Mirio get hit with that either!' Before he could react, he pumped as much of One For All into his body as he could possibly handle before leaping toward them.

"**One For All, Full Cowling: 1,000,000%!"**

His eyes, if anyone could have seen him, burned with so much power that his irises became flickering flames of verdant green. Using his power, he maximized his reaction time to the best of his ability and moved to intercept the bullet as it flew toward Eri and Mirio.

'Have to go faster!'

In reality, it was only a split second. But for Izuku, the moment dragged on much longer than he would have liked. After all, pushing yourself so far past your limits had consequences. He suddenly appeared in the path of the bullet, and for a moment he could see it flying in its path.

He reached out to grab the bullet mid-flight, but at that moment the pain of using One For All to that extent caught up with him. He flinched and his concentration failed, causing him to lose control of his quirk for just an instant.

Just long enough for his hand, which was reaching out toward the bullet, to end up getting struck by the red canister instead of slapping it away.

Blood poured out of his hand and his mouth as his quirk went out of control. Everyone involved was shocked that he could move at that speed, but it was apparent that such a thing was no longer possible.

"Midoriya-sensei, NO!" Mirio screamed. Eri curled up on the ground in tears, thinking that this was all her fault.

The hooded man cackled. "HAHAHAHA! Not so tough without your quirk, are you!?" he shouted, chambering another bullet to use on Mirio.

However, he never got that chance.

Izuku was on the ground, panting heavily from overexertion of his quirk as well as..._something else._ He could literally _feel_ One For All writhing beneath the surface, itching to escape out into the world. It was a feeling he had never experienced before, and it was one of the most agonizing types of pain he had ever felt.

"AAAAHHHHHH!" the green haired man screamed in agony, much to the delight of the villains. As they turned their attention away and walked past him, they failed to see the black tendrils crawling over Izuku's skin.

He continued screaming in pain, struggling to breathe as the black energy enveloped him. Overhaul spared a glance at him just long enough to widen his eyes before a thick, black line of energy slammed him into the wall.

"AAAAHHHHH!" Izuku screamed as his power ran out of control. His mind was a jumble of thoughts and emotions, and not all of them were his own.

"What the hell is going on!? I erased his quirk!" the hooded man yelled. Mirio looked on in horror at what was happening to his teacher, and Eri continued to cry to herself.

Izuku blacked out from the pain, but the black energy continued to swing whips of darkness in every direction, cutting deep into the walls and floor as they rampaged. Inside his mind, Izuku felt a calming presence.

"_-nth holder."_

'Wh-what is this?...' he thought to himself. He was just a body drifting in nothingness, surrounded by an inky darkness.

"_You are stronger than this."_

There were those voices again. He couldn't make out the owners, and he wondered if he was losing his mind. However, after he turned to the side everything made a bit more sense.

His eyes widened. "N-nana! It's you!" he cried out, seeing the black haired woman standing alongside eight other figures. Some of them were shrouded in darkness and were unable to be identified, but he could clearly see four figures. One of them looked strikingly similar to Toshinori Yagi.

"_Welcome back, kiddo." _Nana said with a smile. _"Looks like you've met with an unfortunate fate, huh?"_

"Are you guys all of the holders of One For All? What are you doing here? I thought I just lost my quirk!"

She laughed. _"Hahaha! You honestly think some little bullet can stop nine generations of stored up power? What a joke!" _ She continued chuckling. _"At most, it'll shave a few generations off the top. You can always store it back up!"_

"Then...what the hell was that black stuff? I don't have a quirk of my own beside One For All."

A bald man clad in black with a bandolier of bullets strapped across his chest stepped forward. _"That would be my quirk."_ he said with a gruff voice. Suddenly, he lifted his hand and the same black tendrils of energy wisped around his hand calmly. _"I call it Blackwhip. Basically I could manipulate these in any way I wanted. It's a very powerful quirk."_

"_However, being held in One For All's core has made it way stronger. Right now, you probably have no idea how to control it. That's why it's running rampant."_

Izuku stared wide-eyed. "You mean...I have another quirk!?" he cried out in shock.

The man nodded. _"More than that, kid. One For All stores power, and most of us were born with a quirk too. It has a 'memory' of sorts, and it stores our quirks inside of itself. It seems like you've found a way to tap into mine."_

Nana smirked. _"I never had anything like this happen to me, so you're kind of on your own! Maybe after all this time, the core is strong enough to let you use our quirks. That means you have five more quirks to learn about!"_

Izuku raised an eyebrow, but his mouth was open in surprise. "Five? But aren't there more of you?"

"_Did you forget that Toshi was quirkless? He wasn't the only one, you know."_

He sweatdropped. "Oh yeah, right..." Izuku cleared his throat. "I need to control your quirk! There are people I have to save!"

The man grunted. _"It's not that simple. Blackwhip likes to feed off of your strong emotions. If you're angry, it'll run wild. If you're calm, it'll obey you. You have to learn to control yourself if you want a chance at using it properly."_

Izuku looked down at where the floor would be, if there was one. "I-I can't just sit here! I have to go back! Mirio-kun and Eri-chan, they need me!"

Nana approached before putting her hand on his shoulder. _"You know, when I first met you I thought you were just a brat." _ She then pulled him into a soft embrace, unknowingly pushing his head into her chest due to her superior height. _"You're still a brat, but you can do it. I believe in you, Izuku. We _all_ do."_

Sniffling from the stress and the heartfelt moment, Izuku gently released himself from her. "I *sniff* I know, Nana. I can do this. I can! I have to!" he started pumping himself up. The bald man smirked.

"_Hmph. Then what are you still doing here, huh!? Get going!"_

"How!?"

Before he received an answer, Izuku's eyes were assaulted by a blinding light and he regained consciousness. The first thing he saw was Mirio standing protectively in front of Eri as the gunman aimed another bullet their way.

'No! I'll save them!' Izuku thought with determination, willing the black tendrils to slap the weapon out of his hand. He made it just in time, since the bullet's trajectory was knocked to the side and it struck into the concrete.

"How the-" the man exclaimed, and Overhaul turned to face him once more. The black energy whipped around him wildly, but Izuku managed to stumble to his feet.

'Dammit, this hurts so much!' he winced as the pain of using an unfamiliar quirk to such a degree tore at his body. Even now, he could feel the blood boiling in his veins and his muscles screaming at him to stop. 'Can't stop yet! Have to save them!'

"Oh? You have a second quirk? That seems awfully fortunate for you." Chisaki said, using his own quirk to erect a barrier between the teacher and themselves. However, the wall was destroyed immediately by a huge black tendril that slammed both him and the hooded man into the wall.

Mirio stood gobsmacked, and Eri's tears stopped for a moment due to her shock. "Midoriya-sensei! Are you alright!?" he cried out.

Izuku grit his teeth in pain, but managed to drag a few words out. "Y-yeah...Painful but-" he flinched again, holding his hand out, "I-*hiss* think I can take it!"

Overhaul's plague doctor mask had fallen off from the blow, and the hooded man had been knocked unconscious. Eyes narrowed in anger, Chisaki yelled.

"I have no idea what happened, but my plans won't be ruined by a meaningless hero and some kid!" He reached toward the hooded man's body before laying his hand upon the mask on his face.

"You always were my favorite, Nemoto." he said to the motionless body of his comrade. "You'd be willing to die for me, wouldn't you!?" he said maniacally before the hooded man's body erupted into a shower of blood.

Nemoto was gone.

"AAAAAAAAAARRRRR**RRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!**" Chisaki roared as his body and Nemoto's become one, a twisted amalgamation of two bodies and two quirks. **"I'LL BE TAKING ERI BACK, NOW!"** His voice was beyond inhuman, almost demonic in nature.

Two twisted and bloody arms that had sprouted from his shoulders, and Chisaki used them to activate his own quirk. The entire underground became a mess of jagged spikes intent on impaling each and every one of them with no concern for his own allies. Izuku's Blackwhips wrapped around him, preventing any spikes from getting through. Mirio was unable to protect Eri with his quirk, and resorted to simply holding her tightly and hoping for the best.

Thankfully, the worst that happened was a massive gash upon the side of his torso from a spike that got too close. Blood poured from it, and he cried out in pain. Eri cried as she saw her savior being hurt, and her horn grew in size before the wound quickly closed itself as if it had never been there.

Mirio looked between his wound and the girl in amazement. "Eri-chan...you saved me." he said, incredulously. The girl merely clutched herself closer to him, but he could feel his body rejecting her power more and more by the second.

'Something's wrong!' he thought but refused to release her. He finally had Eri safe from Chisaki, and he wouldn't let her go until he died!

His body burned, and Eri continued crying. In the background, Mirio could hear the sounds of battle as Izuku and Overhaul duked it out. The underground shook with each blow, until a demonic cry of pain echoed down the hallway, forcing his attention their way.

"Mirio-kun, Eri-chan! Can you both walk!?" Izuku appeared in bad shape. His body sported numerous wounds of varying sizes, and he looked like he was about to pass out from exhaustion. Black tendrils of power whipped around him, but he seemed to have a bit more control than before as they never came close to either of them.

"Y-yeah," Mirio said while gritting his teeth.

One of Izuku's whips slammed into the wall, creating an opening. "Then go! Run! I'll cover you!" He noticed how Mirio looked exhausted, and how Eri's horn seemed larger than before. After taking a moment and watching the hero stumble, Izuku grabbed Eri and used whatever strength he could to drag Mirio with him.

"**GET BACK HERE! ERI IS COMING BACK WITH ME, AND SHE'S GONNA DO IT OVER YOUR DEAD BODIES!"**

The roar of anger drew their attention back toward Overhaul, who was bounding forward at a shocking speed. Looking between his companions, Izuku decided he could only escape through the ceiling. He took just a moment to take a deep breath before green lightning sparked around him furiously and he glowed once more.

"**One For All, Full Cowling: 1,000%!"**

He cried out as he sent a full powered punch into the ceiling, shattering the earth and causing a massive shockwave that could be felt even from outside. The force was enough to annihilate the rubble, so none of it fell on his head. Gripping both the girl and his student in his arms, Izuku leapt vertically through the hole he had created.

However, he was followed immediately by Overhaul. **"I WON'T LET YOU ESCAPE!"** His twisted form stretched, extra set of arms flying forward with the intent to tear _someone_ apart. Seeing what was about to happen, Izuku kicked off from Mirio and sending the man hurtling toward the ground.

It was a painful landing, but it was much safer than being in Overhaul's sights.

One of the fingers barely managed to graze his leg, but it was enough for his entire body to erupt in pain as his leg _exploded_ into a shower of blood. Izuku screamed at the agony, worse than even the pain from using Blackwhip for the first time. However, Eri was still clutching to his chest and her quirk quickly mended the damage.

Within moments, Izuku's leg was back to normal.

He shook off his momentary shock and the lack of pain before spinning in midair for an airborne axe kick. The whips of black energy spun with him until he was nothing more than a blur of darkness. Overhaul braced himself for the blow.

"**Blackwhip combo: New Hampshire Destroyer!"**

The strike came, and it came _hard_. Izuku's foot, covered by the energy of Blackwhip and strengthened by One For All, lashed out with a fierce blow straight into Overhaul's second set of arms. They cracked under the pressure before shattering completely, allowing the hero's foot to plant itself right into the man's face.

Overhaul cried out in pain as he went sent flying toward the ground, creating a massive crater where he landed. Izuku managed to land safely with Eri gripping around his neck. Panting heavily, he could feel his energy flowing back into him.

He spared a glance over his shoulder to see Eri. The girl was no longer crying, and instead her face looked hopeful if anything. "It's alright now, Eri-chan. We did it, _together_."

She nodded slightly before burying her face into his back, almost afraid of what might happen next. Hado, who was floating above them, flew down until she landed next to them. "Izuku-sensei! You're alright!" she glanced at the little girl on his back. "You must be Eri-chan, hi! My name's Nejire Hado! It's so nice to meet you, and I hope we get along!"

The girl clutched herself tighter into his back, but nodded at the girl. Ryukyu, now out of her dragon form, ran over toward them. "Deku! Everything is taken care of, they're all down! Even Overhaul!" she exclaimed with a smile that Izuku couldn't help but return.

Suddenly, his energy began to fail him and he fell to the ground much to their surprise. Hado caught him, but she winced as her hands burned by touching his body. "You're burning up! Are you okay!?" she cried.

Izuku could do nothing more than grit his teeth and try to stay conscious. With all the adrenaline running through his system, he hadn't noticed how bad of shape he was in. Although any wounds he had were healed by Eri's Reversal quirk, he still suffered from the exhaustion.

His vision blurred and he could barely make out what anyone was saying, but he could see Hado waving people in this direction before turning his face toward her.

"_Izu-...Try to...with m-...You'll be...-romise!"_ Her voice faded in and out as he fought against the darkness. He could see officers and medics running about, and he faintly felt himself being lifted onto a stretcher and put into an ambulance. Everything from then on was a blur, all the way to the hospital.

Somewhere along the line, he lost consciousness and all he could think about was how Eri had ironically been the one to save _his_ life instead of the other way around.


	9. Chapter 9

**Anotha one.**

**Had a lot of fun writing the previous chapter, and it seems like it was received pretty well. Not everyone enjoys the MC getting hurt, but thankfully Eri fixes everything (including sadness). I'm keeping an eye out for any grammar or spelling errors, and I've been updating previous chapters to fix them.**

**PS: Fight scenes are hard, even when you have canon to go off of for most of it.**

**Enjoy!**

Izuku groaned as light slipped through his eyelids. He felt tired, sore, and numb all at once, and he had to suppress the urge to roll over so the light would leave him alone.

"Midoriya-shounen!" Izuku's eyes cracked open slowly as he recognized the voice. "You're finally awake!"

Looking to the side, the man noticed his predecessor sitting in a chair beside him. "...Yagi-san? What happened?" he asked, weakly. He tried to sit up, but a hand kept him pressed into the hospital bed.

"You're in the hospital. Whatever you were doing with Nighteye, you did it. However, you had a lot of internal bleeding and the doctors mentioned some mumbo jumbo about your brain being far too active while unconscious."

"Huh? But I'm okay now, right?"

"It seems like it. You were only out for about a day, and I came as soon as Nighteye called me." Yagi's tone turned a bit somber. "It wasn't exactly the way I wanted to reconnect with my old sidekick, but at least everyone got out of it okay."

The door suddenly opened and Gran Torino stepped in, alongside Nighteye and a doctor. "Yagi-san you- oh, you're awake Midoriya-san, that's great! Give me just a few minutes to check on you and I'll be out of your hair." the doctor said, grabbing a clipboard and a few tools.

Running a few tests for blindness, memory loss, or difficulty with hearing, Izuku turned out to be perfectly healthy aside from severe muscle fatigue. The doctor left to compile his report and see if he could be discharged today. The two men approached his bed, and Izuku turned his head toward the tallest man in the room.

"Nighteye...Did we save her? Is Eri-chan alright?" he asked, slowly gaining a bit of strength as his body woke up.

The man adjusted his glasses. "Most of the heroes made it out of the rescue operation with minimal injuries, aside from yourself, Fatgum, Eraser, and Suneater. Some officers were injured, but there were no casualties."

Izuku breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. And the Shie Hassaikai?"

"All of them have been arrested. Overhaul was sent to Tartarus for the foreseeable future, while the majority of the other Yakuza members will serve regular jail time. During the raid, we also discovered the former Boss of the Shie Hassaikai, but he had passed away before we even got a chance to help him."

"That's...unfortunate. At least Chisaki is gone and can't hurt anyone anymore. I bet Eri-chan is thrilled."

Gran Torino shook his head sadly. "The girl is relieved, but nervous. She has a hard time trusting anyone, especially doctors. We've all been told that touching her is completely off-limits, which makes any sort of examination difficult."

"I'm not sure exactly what went on in there," Yagi said, standing up and gathering his bag to leave, "but I'm relieved that you're safe, Midoriya-shounen. When I first heard the news that you were in the hospital, I dropped everything to check on you."

"W-wait, Yagi-san!" Izuku cried out, forcing his body to sit up in bed despite its protests. "Something..._happened_ with One For All." That statement prompted all three men to stop and look at him curiously. "I got shot with one of those quirk erasing bullets, specifically one that was intended to completely destroy someone's quirk forever."

Yagi's eyes widened before his expression twisted into a frown. "I'm...sorry to hear that. I know that being a hero was your lifelong dream and-"

"Don't worry, it's still there."

"Wh- the bullet failed!?" Yagi exclaimed, and Izuku nodded.

"Only slightly. I used to be able to use One For All up to about a million percent for just an instant without hurting myself," he clenched one fist and tried to flex, but it was weak, "but now I think I could only manage ten thousand percent at most for that same amount of time."

Nighteye crossed his arms. "Then what was that black energy surrounding you? Some of the others reported that you were able to control it to an extent."

Yagi raised an eyebrow. "Black energy?"

"Yagi-san, you know how I saw the previous holders of One For All in a dream once?" Izuku asked, getting confused looks from Gran Torino and Nighteye but a nod from his predecessor. "That happened again when I got hit with the bullet. I saw Nana along with some other guy who was bald and had black clothes on. He called the quirk 'Blackwhip', and apparently I can use his quirk too now."

"W-what!? You can use his quirk too!? What about Nana's quirk!?"

The bedridden man shook his head. "I can't use her quirk yet, but yeah I can use his as well as One For All. I'll have to do some training to get better control of it before I try to use it, though."

Gran Torino grunted. "That's quite a lot to wrap my head around. Toshi, you never had anything like this happen to you before right?"

"No. From what I know, this has never happened before."

The old man shrugged. "Then just take it and move on. There's no point in thinking too hard about it at this point. He has a lot more to think about now, anyway."

Izuku looked at the short man with confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

Nighteye answered for him after he and the old hero shared a quick look. "From what little she's said so far, Eri seems to only feel comfortable speaking with you or Mirio. Once she's discharged from the hospital, the idea has been thrown around that one of you would become her legal guardian."

The green haired man's jaw hung open in surprise as he stared at the Foresight user. "...You're serious?..."

"Yes. Although she hasn't met him, Eraserhead is another candidate due to his own quirk. If her quirk runs out of control, he could potentially stop her."

"Wouldn't he be the best choice, then? Not that I'm unwilling, but I've never been a parent or a guardian before so I wouldn't know what to do."

"Neither has Eraserhead."

Izuku sweatdropped, trying to imagine Aizawa as a parent. In his mind, he saw the tired man grumpily walking around with an easily excited child on his shoulders. The thought almost made him laugh out loud. Suddenly, his mind turned to a different path. "Wait, what exactly is Eri-chan's quirk anyway? She literally healed my leg in an instant after it got blown off." he asked, and the intelligent man crossed his arms.

"Similar to One For All, it seems the girl's quirk is to stockpile energy. She can use that energy to reverse things, whether that be injuries, damage..." Nighteye trailed off, "or if someone is in contact for too long, existence."

Both Izuku and Yagi looked at him in shock. "So she can basically reverse time for someone just by touching them?" Izuku asked, eyes widened. Nighteye nodded.

"Indeed. Chisaki was using her quirk to reverse someone's quirk factor until it could never function properly again. Thus, the quirk erasing bullets were created."

Izuku looked down to his lap, eyes still wide in surprise and thought. "Another quirk that messes with time, huh..." he mumbled to himself before locking eyes with the tall man. "Then we need to make sure she's safe. There's no doubt that some villains would kill to have a power like that on their side, willing or otherwise. I _will not_ let that happen." he said, resolutely.

Gran Torino chuckled. "Sounding like a doting father already, brat. I'm sure you'll be just fine. Just ask your own parents if you have any questions, but at least she isn't an infant so you wouldn't need to worry about the worst part of being a dad."

Yagi chuckled nervously while scratching the back of his neck. "Also...if you have the opportunity to talk with Nana again, I wouldn't exactly ask her for any tips."

Izuku couldn't help but laugh at the memories. "Oh yeah, I know that. At least her heart was in the right place...right?"

The man who was once the #1 hero sweatdropped. "One of the best heroes to ever exist, and the woman was absolutely hopeless as a mother."

Somewhere deep in his mind, Izuku could feel unbridled rage trying to claw its way out.

"Alright, Eri-chan, we're here." Izuku announced, looking down at the girl who currently held his hand. She looked extremely nervous, but that was to be suspected with a past like hers.

"..." The girl was completely silent, but her eyes told Izuku everything he needed to know.

She wasn't just nervous. She was _terrified_.

'Being thrown somewhere with a lot of people she doesn't know isn't exactly what I would want if I was in her position. It's only been two days since the rescue, and she hasn't even cracked the slightest hint of a smile.' he thought to himself before kneeling down to her level.

"Eri-chan, everything is going to be alright, okay?" he asked, giving her a soft smile. "We'll be staying together, so I'll never be far away from you. These are good people. They're a bit loud sometimes, but I'll try to keep them from being too noisy." he said, caringly holding her hand with both of his own. "I promise that not a single one of them will even think of hurting you."

She slowly nodded, and he ruffled her hair a bit. Eri gave the slightest pout before smoothing out the top of her hair.

Opening the door to Heights Alliance, Izuku was thrilled to see only a few of his students present in the common room. They were all sitting on the couch playing some kind of card game, and as he got a bit closer he could see that it was poker.

"Ha! Straight flush! You guys better pick up your game or I'll win the bet at this rate!" Kaminari cried out, slamming his five cards onto the table and dragging the mound of colored chips toward him. Asui looked at the cards he had placed before giving him a deadpan expression.

"Kaminari-chan, you don't know how to play poker, do you?"

"Not really, but I'm really lucky!"

"That's just a regular flush, which is worse than Ochaco-chan's full house. You lost this hand, now give those chips back."

He grumbled before gently sliding the small mountain of winnings over toward Uraraka, who smiled awkwardly. Yaoyorozu sighed at her fourth consecutive loss before looking toward the entrance to see her teacher along with...a child?

"Umm, good afternoon Midoriya-sensei." she said, glancing between the man and the girl beside him. She looked ready to cry at any moment, and he looked like he had run several marathons without stopping. "Are you...okay?"

He chuckled. "Yes I'm fine, thank you for asking. Just exhausted."

"And who is this?" she asked, drawing the attention of the other people at the table.

"This is Eri-chan. She'll be living with me for a bit, so I hope you guys will be nice to her."

Uraraka looked at the girl who tried her best to hide behind the man's leg. She was adorable, maybe a few years old with silver hair and a small horn jutting out of her temple. Deciding to be the first, she stood up and walked over to them.

"Hi there, Eri-chan! My name is Ochaco Uraraka, but you can just call me Ochaco if you want!" she said with a beaming smile. "I hope we can be good friends from now on!"

The small girl clutched Izuku's pant leg tighter in fear as the unfamiliar woman got closer than she would have liked. However, she gave a small nod of acknowledgement at the greeting.

Kaminari leaned over the couch with a lazy wave. "Yo! I'm Denki Kaminari! It's good to meet ya!" he called out with a smile. "Midoriya-sensei, why were you absent these last few days? Not that I don't like the other guys, but you're the easiest to learn from."

The man's gaze fell slightly. "I'll... tell you guys about it some other time, okay?"

Conveniently, a red haired head poked its way out of the kitchen. "Oh, hey Izuku! You're finally back! Where have you-woah," he stopped mid-sentence, seeing his friend's haggard look, "what _happened_ to you?"

Izuku chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with a slightly red face. "I was just busy with some business, that's all. Are you making anything for dinner? I'm starving." he said, trying to change the topic of conversation as quickly as possible.

Kirishima had gotten used to this by now, thankfully. "Yep! It's chicken valentino!"

Izuku deadpanned. "You literally looked up 'fancy chicken recipes' and picked the third thing on the list, didn't you?" he asked, knowing his redheaded friend's habits weren't so easily changed.

"Uh...no?"

"You're not fooling anyone with that, Eijiro. Anyway, how long until it's done?"

"Only like ten more minutes!" he said, before glancing downward. His head vanished back into the kitchen before Kirishima came out and stood in front of the duo. "Hello, I'm Eijiro Kirishima. It's nice to meet you." he said, flashing a smile with sharp teeth that made Eri nervous.

Her clutching even tighter to him made Izuku's senses go into overdrive. "Eiji, keep your smile without teeth for now, okay? You're scaring Eri-chan." he said, sending a small glare in his friend's direction. Kirishima gulped.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, Eri-chan! Please don't be scared of me!" he cried, bowing his head low to the ground for forgiveness.

Izuku looked down at her before kneeling and placing a hand gently on her shoulder. "Now Eri-chan, Eijrio here might have scary teeth but it's because of his quirk. Please don't hold that against him, okay? He's a nice person."

She gripped a bit tighter to him for just a moment before relaxing slightly. Suddenly, Eri released one of her hands from Izuku's leg and gently patted Kirishima's head as if to say 'it's okay'. Upon contact with his pointy locks, however, her face brightened in interest. Kirishima would be lying if he said he wasn't slightly nervous with the child currently playing with his hair, but if it made her less afraid of him he would grin and bear it.

"...Pokey..." she mumbled to herself, and Izuku couldn't help but chuckle. The girls in the common space aww'd at the adorable scene.

"That has to be one of the most adorable things I've ever seen." Yaoyorozu said with a soft smile. "Eri-chan, do you happen to like tea? I could make some, if you like."

The child ceased her ministrations and looked toward the black haired girl. She tilted her head to the side in confusion. Seeing her struggle, Yaoyorozu's eyes widened a bit. "Eri-chan, do you not know what tea is?" she asked, worried for the answer.

Eri shook her head.

Yaoyorozu's eyes suddenly began glistening. "Oh, then I absolutely _must_ have you try some of my favorites! I'm certain you will love them! Maybe I could have my parents send me some exotic brands from overseas for you to try!" She began rambling about how David's was her favorite and how the tea was special because of some special process in how it was made.

Although she was unknowingly showing off her rich heritage, the others couldn't help but appreciate how upbeat she became whenever she had a chance to genuinely help someone. The fact that Eri found the excitement slightly infectious only made them appreciate it more.

Izuku smiled at her before looking down at the silver haired girl. "Come on, Eri-chan! Let's get you settled into your new room before Uncle Eijiro has dinner ready for us." She nodded at him before taking his hand and following him to the elevator.

After they disappeared, Uraraka squealed. "Oh my gosh, she is the most adorable thing ever!"

Kaminari leaned forward and whispered. "Do you think she has something to do with why Midoriya-sensei was gone the last few days?"

Asui sent the brown haired girl a look that told her she wanted to say something, but chose not to. "Maybe. I don't think Midoriya-sensei has any siblings though, so I'm not sure if Eri-chan is related to him. Why do you care so much if he's absent anyway?" the frog girl asked, to which the blond haired boy sputtered.

"H-He's just easier to learn from, that's all!"

"Are you sure it isn't just because he puts up with your stupid side whenever you overuse your quirk? Bakugo-sensei just leaves you there, kero."

He began to sweat nervously.

The next day, Izuku walked into class with Eri on his shoulders. Thankfully, the doorway was built to handle much larger people so he didn't even need to duck to avoid hitting her head on the top. He gently set her down in the chair beside his before taking a seat himself.

A few minutes later, the students had all taken their seats and many were sending questioning looks toward the newcomer. Eri shrank in her seat, uncomfortable under the confused eyes of Class 1-A.

After a brief introduction on who she was and that she would be staying with him until further notice, Izuku announced that there would be a culture festival coming up in the next two weeks and that they all had to agree on some kind of event to represent the class. In the end, they decided on a musical performance since Jiro and a few others were musically inclined. Ashido was apparently a dancer in her free time, and wanted to teach the rest of the class so everyone could participate.

Izuku couldn't help but remember his own hobby that he and the guys picked up during their time in the past, and wondered if he should make a special request to Nezu.

Shortly after, they worked on studying the bane of every hero's existence: paperwork. It was a necessary evil until one became a top-ranked hero with their own agency, where they could hire someone to handle the police reports and documentation for them. Some heroes, like Hawks in his first year as a professional, often got in trouble for neglecting paperwork duties.

Class was cut somewhat short as to allow the students to prepare for the culture festival. Hero Studies was their final class of the day, so it allowed them to brainstorm ideas freely aside from finishing up any remaining homework for other classes. Izuku gathered up his teaching materials as he wrote a reminder to himself to check in with Nezu now that the rescue was over.

He was the last person to use the room for the day, so he locked the classroom behind him as he and Eri left. They were going to cook their own dinner as a way to bond, but fate had other ideas.

"Izuku-sensei, hey!" came the voice of Nejire Hado, who was running down the hallway until she stopped in front of them. "And Eri-chan too! Do you remember me? I'm Nejire Hado, but you can just call me Onee-san!"

The girl responded by trying to hide behind the taller man. He noticed that she still looked frightened, and he gave a sad smile to her before turning toward the bluenette. "Hey there Hado. What brings you over here? Obviously you came looking for us."

She pouted at him, making Izuku wonder how she could be so expressive. "That's mean, Izuku-sensei. Am I not allowed to check in on my favorite teacher? Besides, I wanted to see how Eri-chan was doing! There's a lot of people here, so I wanted to make sure she's alright. Mirio and Amajiki were worried too, but they're still recovering from the rescue so they couldn't come."

Izuku cocked his head to the side. "What's this about a favorite teacher? Also, she seems to be doing okay. All of the kids at the dorm seem to like her, and none of them are asking her any hard questions."

Hado smiled. "That's great! And about the favorite teacher thing, that's you!"

"Hado...I've literally taught you twice."

"So? You make training fun! Normally it's so boring!"

He sweatdropped. "You just like that I paid for your meals both times and let you talk my ear off."

The girl shrugged. "Eh, details. Hey, speaking of which! We should get dinner tonight together too! Just us and Eri-chan! Maybe that'll be a bit easier on her. What do you think, Eri-chan?" the girl knelt down beside the child as she asked for her opinion, an open smile on her face.

Izuku smiled as well. Hado was a lot of things, but nobody could deny that she cared. "What do you say, Eri-chan? Want to eat with Onee-san today?" he asked, hoping the familial term would help her feel more comfortable.

The girl looked between them quickly, eyes widened in nervousness. After she realized that they were waiting for her response, she nodded slowly. Hado's smile could blind the sun at that point. "Great! We could order food and eat in your room, Izuku-sensei!"

"Why my room?"

"Because! If we eat out in public, it'll be loud and there will be a lot of people around!"

He sighed, accepting her reasoning. "Alright, fine. Let me call and order in a bit, I need to get back and change out of these clothes." he said, loosening the tie around his neck and pulling a bit at his collar. "Nezu said I could wear whatever, but it never feels right to show up to class looking like I just woke up."

Hado giggled at him. "If it makes it any better, I think you look great in that! Everyone else just wears their hero costumes but you mix it up a bit. Plus the whole dress shirt, slacks, and tie combo really looks good on you." He blushed at the compliment.

He would never admit that he spends several minutes each morning trying to choose an outfit that's color coordinated and freshly ironed.

As they began walking away, the bluenette leaned close enough to his ear that he could feel her breath on his skin, making him shiver. "By the way, I like how you called me 'Onee-san'. You should do that more often."

He gulped, knowing that he had set himself up for that one but still wasn't prepared for it.

Several hours later, they were sitting in Izuku's room with takeout from a nearby American restaurant. Despite being nearly five years old, according to the records Izuku had received from the hospital, Eri had apparently never had a hamburger. He forced down the rage that bubbled to the front of his mind, wondering just what the hell she was fed in that personal hell.

"Izuku-sensei, stop glaring at your food like it hurt your friends." Hado chided, waving her fork at him. "Anyway, are we still on for this weekend's class? I really wanted to try something new!"

That piqued the man's interest. "Oh?"

"Yeah! I know I'm more of a long range fighter with my quirk, but I feel like not knowing how to fight with my hands and legs could get dangerous. Plus, I'm not very useful indoors in a fight either. I wanted to try getting a bit of practice with martial arts, or something like that! I bet you'd be able to teach me a ton!"

He hummed in thought after taking a moment to swallow the next bite of food. "Well with your quirk, it would make sense to play to your strengths. Using it in a way you're not used to could waste energy, but I'm more than willing to teach you a solid foundation to work with. Who knows, maybe you'll figure out a way to incorporate your quirk into your kicks or punches. You've definitely got the muscles to make it work."

She smirked at him. "Oh, so you look at my legs, huh? Don't forget that I'm your student." she asked with a teasing smirk.

He rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "You know it's not like that. You realize that I'll have to touch you a bit to correct your form, right? You can't seriously expect to keep up the teasing during all of that."

"Challenge accepted."

Izuku sighed. 'I haven't even fully gotten over Nemuri yet, either. Why does she have to make this so difficult?'

Eri was so enamoured by the taste of real food that she barely registered their conversation at all. After all, being fed scraps of food for nearly a full year taught her to eat whatever she received with no fuss. Just thinking about how Chisaki treated this poor girl made Izuku's blood boil beneath the surface.

He was glad he didn't have to force her to eat her vegetables, though.

The rest of the week passed without incident, surprisingly. With how crazy things had been, Izuku was half expecting another massive villain attack out of nowhere. Nezu allowed him to sneak out and patrol late at night a few days a week, so he took full advantage of the opportunity.

The others, specifically Bakugo and Kirishima, were _not_ thrilled about being left out.

"_Are you fucking serious, Deku!? What do you mean you got 'special' permission to go on patrols!?"_

"_He's right, man. Why are you the only one to be allowed out there? It gets so damn boring sitting here at school all the time."_

Shaking his thoughts away, Izuku dodged under a palm strike from Hado and retaliated with a lariat straight to her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She tried sweeping his legs, but he took advantage of her outstretched limb to wrap his own leg around hers before forcing the both of them to the ground and pressing his fist against her neck.

"I win again, Hado."

She was panting heavily with sweat dripping down her face and neck. Her blue hair, normally let loose, was tied into a long ponytail which spiraled on its own naturally. Even though she was far from an exhibitionist, she only wore a pair of tight shorts and a sports bra. The woman had previously been wearing a tank top to cover it, but had decided to shed the extra layer once she was warmed up.

"That's not _*huff* _very surprising, Sensei. You've done this way longer than I have." He released her and stood before offering a hand to her. She took it, pulling with a bit more force than necessary and accidentally wound up clutching her teacher's muscle shirt as her face was buried in his chest.

Izuku burned a dark red. Hado had teased him relentlessly while he taught her the basic forms and stances, but that stopped quickly once he had her throwing punches and kicks repeatedly. Between the ragged breaths and panting, the woman barely had any time for teasing or sarcastic remarks.

He finally understood a little bit of why Kayama enjoyed her sadistic side, and it scared him.

The man dared to tilt his head downward despite knowing there was a chance that the bluenette would be looking right back at him, a possibility that both excited and terrified him. Luckily for him, Hado was focused on keeping her eyes anywhere but on him. However, he could clearly see the tinge of red on her cheeks.

Gently pushing her off of him, he coughed into his hand in an attempt to diffuse some of the tension. "Y-yeah well, I've had a lot of practice." he said, forcing his blush to subside slightly. "Anyway, you're doing very well for your first day! The difference from two hours ago is really showing."

His compliment didn't help her blush, but it did allow her to smile broadly at him. "It's just because you're a great teacher! You didn't believe me before, but you have to see it now, right?"

He rolled his eyes with a smile. "Yes yes, I'll admit I'm the greatest teacher to ever exist and you should bow before my awesome self." he said with blatant sarcasm. To his surprise, Hado began circling him by floating. Izuku managed to catch the smirk on her face before she disappeared behind him.

"Master." she said from behind him with a playful tone. "Would you perhaps like dinner," she had circled in front of him now and he could clearly see her smirk, "a bath," she kept spinning until she was behind him again. As he turned his head to the left to face her, she quickly moved to his right shoulder and whispered huskily in his ear, "or..._me_?"

He flinched as her breath sent a shiver down his spine, and he turned to see her giggling at him from a few feet away. "Hado, wha-wh-what...huh?" he stuttered. The girl couldn't help but laugh openly at his dumbfounded expression.

"You're just too easy, Izuku-sensei! I swear, if I didn't know better I'd think you were younger than I am. You're so innocent!"

He looked away and rubbed his neck in embarrassment, before locking her eyes with a challenging look. "Oh yeah? I bet I've got more experience than you do on this kind of thing. What are you, eighteen?"

She met his look with a determined expression. "Yep, I've had...four boyfriends now? The first was in primary school though, so it doesn't really count." she finished with a smirk growing back onto her face. Combined with the flush from being physically tested for the last two hours, Izuku had a hard time keeping his own cheeks from burning again.

"You've got more numbers than I do on that, but I always say that quality is better than quantity."

"That depends~" she said in a sing-song type voice. "Every person can be different, so you get a different outlook on it! The experience can be totally different! Like one guy was super quiet but thoughtful, but another one was really confident and forward. Both were interesting for different reasons!"

He put his hand to his chin in thought. "You're not wrong. I've only really had one girlfriend so far and she..." he sweatdropped, "well she was pretty outgoing to say the least."

She giggled at him. "Oooo~! I didn't know you liked outgoing women! You always seemed like you'd enjoy the more reserved type!"

"How did this conversation turn into what my type of woman is?..." He chuckled but his blush was still present. "It's not that Nem-_ she_ was my type," he blushed harder at his slip of the tongue, knowing that Hado's smirk intensified, "it was more that we had a lot in common. Sure she was beautiful, but it was us growing up together that made it a bit more real."

Her eyes gained a mischievous glint. "Ohoh? I think I heard something, but I can't be too sure. Did I just hear that you dated someone whose name starts with Nem? Only one person I know has a name like that." Hado's grin widened as her teacher flinched again, and she pointed a finger at him accusingly.

"You dated Midnight-sensei!?" she announced, far too loudly for his liking. His blush intensified and he slapped his hand over her mouth in the off chance someone heard her. Even if it was the weekend, some people liked to train in one of the gyms during their spare time.

"Shh! Hado! Don't say something like that so loudly!"

"You didn't deny it though!" she said, muffled through his fingers.

Deciding to get her back for her teasing, Izuku ignored the raging firestorm on his face and leaned in close to her ear with intense eyes. "If you mention that to _anyone_, I swear I'll volunteer you for Snipe's personal target practice." he whispered threateningly.

Hado's eyes widened. Despite having the tables turned on her so quickly, she couldn't help but think one thing:

Izuku's intense stare was kind of hot.

She nodded quickly, and he released her only to take a few steps back and clear his throat. The woman found her smirk once again, putting her hands on her hips. "So...You and Midnight, huh?" she teased.

He rolled his eyes. "There's a lot more than that, but I can't explain it to you."

"Aww, why not!?"

He sighed. "Because it's not appropriate for a teacher and his student to talk about the details. I'll tell you when you graduate, assuming you still remember."

Hado pouted. "What do you mean I have to wait until I graduate!? That's still like half a year away! There's no way I'll remember to interrogate you later!"

"My point exactly."

Her pout tripled in intensity, making her face scrunch up in the most adorable way. "Mouuuu! You're the worst, Izuku-sensei!" she said, crossing her arms and looking away with the pout still present.

The green haired teacher laughed openly at her, only making the bluenette pout harder. Shaking his head with a final chuckle, he took a sip of water from the bottle he had brought with him before turning back toward his student. "Now that I'm warmed up, I can start my own training. You're free to head out if you want, Hado."

She dropped her pout and her eyes widened in curiosity. "What kind of training? Oh! Does it have anything to do with that black stuff you used against the Yakuza? Speaking of which, I thought your quirk was some kind of strength enhancer, not whatever that was." the bluenette said with her head tilted to the side cutely.

Izuku looked at her for a few moments before grabbing his phone and making a call. "Hey Yagi-san, it's me...Yeah I'm actually about to work on it right now, why?...No I have Hado here with me. We were just training..._*Sigh*_ no, I think she already knows. She saw it...Alright I'll do that. Oh! And my mom wanted you to call about something, but she didn't tell me what...Okay, see ya." he then hung up the phone and looked around the gym before locking eyes with the third year.

"Who was that? Was that your dad!?"

Izuku sighed again. "No, but apparently a lot of people think he is. That was my old mentor, and I had to clear something up with him before I told you the truth."

She put her tank top back on after using it to wipe the sweat off of her face. "Wait, but if he's _not_ your dad, why would your mom want him to call? Seems a bit suspicious don't you think?"

The man chuckled at her. "No, it's not like that at all. My dad works in the US, but he's still married to my mom. There's nothing scandalous going on, so keep your gossip to yourself." he poked her in the forehead, causing her to wince and rub the tender spot for a moment.

"So...what's this about the truth then?" she asked, still shooting him a slightly peeved look for the patronizing gesture.

Izuku looked around one last time before walking toward a bench and waving for her to follow. Sitting down, he motioned for her to get a bit closer so he didn't have to speak loudly. Obviously, what he planned to say wasn't something he wanted anyone else knowing.

"Alright, I'll tell you what really happened. You remember a few weeks ago when you said Kacchan's- that's Bakugo, the one with the angry face and the sandy blond hair?- you said his name was the same as the kid who won the Sports Festival for the first years. Do you remember that?"

She nodded, and he continued. "The truth is, that wasn't his younger brother or anything. That _was_ him."

Hado raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You're a terrible liar, Sensei. I recorded the whole festival, and he definitely looks a lot older than that. Besides, there's no way he's the same guy that had to be chained to the winner's platform to receive his reward."

A chuckle was her response. "Oh that's him alright. When you get stuck in the past for eight years, you tend to mellow out a bit."

That revelation caused the girl to turn fully toward him. "You're kidding, right?"

Izuku shook his head. "You said you watched the footage right? Do you remember the kid with green hair who broke literally every bone in his arms, hands, and fingers fighting Todoroki?" She nodded again as her eyes slowly widened in realization.

"Th-that was you!?" she exclaimed, and he shushed her in case anyone else in the gym could overhear. However, he nodded in the affirmative.

"Yep, that was yours truly. That's how I got some of these scars, after all." he showed her his arm, which still bore the marks from overuse of One For All. His left hand was the one with a metal prosthetic, so he retained his scars on his right arm and hand. "And I'm not lying about the whole time travel thing. That really happened."

She stared at him in wonder, searching his eyes for any hint of deceit but found none. "How does something like that even happen?" the bluenette asked, inching closer to him in interest.

"We discovered that quirks are a lot weirder than people think. Sometimes, they can run out of control and have extremely strange effects. One person's quirk could make portals, but this one sent us all into the past. Eijiro and Tenya were there with us, and we basically finished our education at U.A. in the past. That's also when I dated _you know who_." he refused to say her name, as if it would summon her if he did.

Hado couldn't believe her ears. Her teacher was a first year student only a few months ago, but some freak accident made him live in the past for eight years? Things didn't get much weirder than that. However, her curious mind picked up on one specific detail and ran with it. "Wait, then does she remember all of that now!? You said you only dated one person, and it was her!?"

Izuku blushed slightly, rubbing his neck. "Well...sort of. The details are a bit strange since nothing we did back then had any effect here, so we think there's some kind of parallel universe crap going on and I'm too lazy to investigate it. I actually already had this conversation with her and we cleared up _that_ whole awkward mess."

"So...what happened with that? You can't just leave me on a cliffhanger like that, Izuku-sensei! I have to know the details!" she pouted with an excited expression, if it was possible.

He poked her in the forehead again and pushed to force Hado to give him some space, as she had inched even closer. "Again, I'm not telling you that stuff because I'm your teacher. Even after you graduate, I'll probably never tell you."

She grumbled, crossing her arms under her chest. "You're mean." She then looked back at him with a curious face. "So what about the black thing that happened with your quirk? Was that it running out of control? If that's what happened, it freaked out in a really weird way."

He nodded his head left and right in thought. "I guess you could say that? It's never done that kind of thing for me before though. If I hadn't pushed myself past my limits though, Mirio or Eri-chan could have been seriously hurt." That also got Hado thinking.

"Pushed past your limits? What were your limits anyway?"

He debated on lying, but ultimately decided against it. So far, Hado seemed to accept what he was saying without much of a fuss, so he chose to tell her. "Well, you know how Nighteye said I beat him? I had to go past my limits to do that, too."

The bluenette merely cocked her head to the side, a signal for him to explain. After locking eyes for several seconds, he sighed. "My quirk is a lot stronger than my body can handle, to be honest. In order to beat Nighteye's Foresight, I had to move faster than he could ever hope to react to. In terms of numbers, I could probably take down most villains with only 100% of my strength."

"_Only_ 100%? You mean you can go higher?"

"Oh, I could go up to a million percent for a moment if I wanted to."

She gave him a deadpan expression. "..."

"Fun fact, going faster than the speed of light feels _really_ weird."

"..." she continued to stare at him, and after nearly twenty seconds he sweatdropped. Hado sighed. "I don't even know what to say to you right now. How do you even _do_ something like that!? And you say it like it's normal!"

He chuckled awkwardly. "It gets a little more ridiculous than that, but I don't think I can manage a million percent anymore. I got hit with one of those quirk erasing bullets trying to save Mirio and Eri-chan."

"...Why am I not even surprised at you anymore? _Of course_ you would get your quirk erased but it just makes you a little weaker." she groaned, hanging her head in a fashion that was so unlike Nejire Hado. Her usual upbeat attitude was nowhere to be seen, courtesy of him dropping bombshell after bombshell on her.

He patted her back reassuringly before standing up and taking a few steps forward. Closing his eyes, he took deep breaths until he was in a nearly meditative state. Focusing inward, he managed to catch the slightest wisps of power that he recognized as Blackwhip. Deciding to play it safe, he mentally grabbed a single strand of the energy and allowed it to come to the surface.

Hado looked up to see Izuku holding a thin tendril of black energy between two fingers. It moved on its own slightly, but her teacher merely added small amounts of power to it and took it away to change its size. "Sensei, what exactly is that?" she asked, curiosity overpowering her need to be dramatic.

He ignored her for a few moments, and she was about to get his attention again until his eyes shot open and he pumped a large amount of power into his quirk. The small string of blackness instantly became a massive rope as he swung his arm to the side, gripping a nearby trash bin with his power.

"Woah, that's so cool! How are you doing that so well? Have you been practicing that already?" she asked, floating over to him with an excited smile on her face.

"A-Actually, this is my first time trying to use it since the rescue..." he said, cheeks growing slightly red. "I'm not entirely sure how I know the right way to use it, but I do. It's like an instinct."

"Really? That sure is weird." Hado responded, reaching out with her hand to touch the whip. To her surprise, it didn't have a physical form but it seemed to reject her touch. This gave it the same feeling of grabbing a cat's tail; it had a small section on the inside that was solid, but the outer area caved slightly under the pressure of her grip, like fur.

The bluenette giggled, and Izuku raised an eyebrow at her. "It's actually kind of fuzzy! Try it!" she said, prompting him to reach out with one hand and grip the black energy with his non-metal hand.

He was actually shocked that she was right, and deep in his mind he could feel his predecessor sweatdrop.

He refused to admit it to anyone except Yagi, but Izuku had been seeing his predecessors in his dreams more often lately. Nana and the bald man, who still refused to give him his name until he 'truly mastered his quirk like a real man', seemed to appreciate the company. The other users of One For All still hadn't materialized enough for him to recognize any of them or speak to them, but he could feel their gazes on him constantly.

It was pretty unnerving to know that he basically had eight people living inside of his head, even if only two of them were actively watching over him. He worried what would happen if he suddenly decided to be intimate with someone. Would they have to watch, or could they shut it out like turning off a TV?

Questions for later, he supposed.

Retracting Blackwhip, he allowed the small tendrils of energy to dance freely from his fingertips. He smiled, still slightly awed by the fact that he would possibly gain even more quirks. He wasn't power hungry, but his fascination with quirks alone gave him the motivation to strive to unlock them all.

"It's called Blackwhip, apparently. I looked it up, and someone a long time ago had something extremely similar. I'm pretty terrible at naming things, so I figured I'd just steal that name for it." he said, blushing slightly as he remembered the names he used to give animals as a child.

Hado hummed in response. "At least the name makes sense, right? What else do you think you can do with it?" she asked, still floating next to him to examine his new ability.

As soon as he released his quirk, he suddenly felt much more exhausted than usual. His eyes rolled back in his head for a moment before Hado caught him, steadying him with a hand on his back. "Thanks Hado...I'm not sure what just happened there. I must not be used to using this new power and it wears me out really quickly." he mumbled, holding his head with one hand and taking deep breaths.

"Come on, Izuku. Let's get you back to your room to rest for a bit, okay?" she said, to which the man nodded numbly. He didn't even bother correcting her on her lack of an honorific because he was so overwhelmingly tired.

The denizens of Heights Alliance were dumbstruck when their senior half-floated into their dorm carrying their friend-turned-teacher with one of his arms over her shoulder looking like he was almost completely asleep. The fact that they were dressed in workout clothing answered several of their questions, but many still remained.

"Umm, Hado-senpai," asked Uraraka with a concerned look, "what happened to Deku-sensei?"

The bluenette adjusted the man on her shoulders. Despite her quirk assisting with her movement, he was still pretty heavy. "Sensei went a little overboard with training his quirk in a new way. He's okay, I promise!"

The brown haired girl wasn't convinced, especially since both of them were still flushed and slightly sweaty. "Are you _sure_ that's what happened?" she asked, crossing her arms with an unamused glare.

Tilting her head to the side, Hado replied. "Yeah, that's actually what happened. We had our weekly training session and he taught me some martial arts, but then he wanted to do some quirk training." She had never seen Uraraka with such a judgmental look, and it piqued her interest. "Ochaco-chan, I don't know what's going on in that head of yours right now, but I'm pretty sure it's not what you're thinking."

The girl sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Do you need help getting him to his room?"

"Nope, I think I've got it! He's pretty heavy, though. To think, he was just a squirt a few months ago! Time sure does fly, huh?" she said with a knowing smile that caught everyone off guard.

Ashido gave her senior a look. "Hado-senpai...did he tell you?" she asked, hesitantly. She knew that Izuku didn't want everyone to know, so she was being careful.

The bluenette nodded happily. "Yep! Time travel, or whatever. Pretty crazy, huh? I didn't believe him at first either!" she announced, causing most of the surprised gazes to melt into relieved ones.

Yaoyorozu sighed in relief. "Thank goodness you already knew. I was worried that Mina would reveal his secret."

"Hey! I _can_ keep a secret you know, Yaomomo!"

"Name one occasion that was the case."

"...Uhh..."

"My point is proven."

Adjusting him once more, Hado began walking toward the elevator. "What floor is his room on? I think he needs some time to rest."

Uraraka volunteered herself to go with her anyway to help. "It's on the second floor. I'll help you."

A few minutes of awkward silence reigned as they made their way to Izuku's room. Opening the door slowly, they noticed Eri still sleeping in his bed, as well as a large sleeping bag laid out on the floor. The girl was wrapped in blankets like a cocoon, and a content smile was plastered on her face.

The two women shared a small smile at the scene before moving their teacher to his sleeping bag and zipping him into it. Double checking to make sure nothing else needed to be done, they exited the room and closed the door quietly.

After walking a few feet away, Uraraka turned to Hado with a serious expression. "Alright Senpai. I need to know something." she said, cryptically. The bluenette cocked her head to the side.

"You seem a bit serious. What's the matter, Ochaco-chan?"

"Do you like Deku-sensei?"

Hado raised an eyebrow. "Yes. He's a great teacher and a good person. What's not to like about him?" Seriously, what was up with this girl today? So weird.

Uraraka shook her head. "That's not what I mean and you know it. Do you _like_ him? I've seen how you look at him all the time."

The other girl put a finger to her chin in thought. "Well, I suppose I might. I'm not really looking for that kind of thing right now, but sometimes things just happen. Why do you ask? Oh! Do you like him Ochaco-chan!?" she asked, getting excited at the idea.

Uraraka sputtered, blushing heavily. "I-I don't even know! But don't turn this around on me! Do you want him or not!?"

"Jeez, possessive are we?"

The brunette gave the best scowl she could manage with her blush. "It's just..." she trailed off, face getting more sad by the second, "I...guess I really liked him before the whole time travel business. When he came back like this, I never had any time to really act on those feelings. Now that he's so much older than I am, I don't even know if he'd consider it just on that alone and that hurts so much."

Hado gave the girl a sympathetic smile. "Oh Ochaco-chan, I'm sorry. So you've had a crush on him for that long, and you don't even think he'll like you back just because he's so much older now." she repeated, causing tears to well up in the brunette's eyes. For the first time in a long while, Hado's expression faltered.

"I...don't really know what to tell you girl. Nothing like this has ever happened before, so I don't know how to respond to that. I never knew Izuku-sensei when he was a student, so to me he's just a super hot teacher."

Uraraka's tears dried quickly as a furious blush assaulted her face. "Y-you think he's h-hot!?" she stuttered, face so heated one could fry an egg on it if they tried.

Hado rolled her eyes with a smirk. "Oh c'mon Ochaco-chan! Have you _looked_ at him!? You'd have to be blind not to think so! If he was anything like this when he was your age, I'm sure I'd understand why you liked him."

"But...that's not the reason I like him..." Uraraka mumbled. "At least...not the _only_ reason." Hado couldn't help the giggle that rose from her chest at that. "He's brave, he's smart, and he's got a heart of gold and he cares about everyone. To me...he's like, perfect. To see you and Ryukyu get along with him so well makes my heart hurt."

The bluenette giggled again. "Oh, Ryukyu? She doesn't like him like that. She just thinks he's interesting. You don't have to worry about her."

Uraraka's relief came in the form of a sigh. "That's good, but...what about you? You said you might like him too, right? Does that make us, like, l-love rivals or something?" she asked, hesitantly. Trying to squeeze out the L word was difficult for her.

Hado hummed in thought for a moment. "I wouldn't say 'love rivals', but more like 'friends with a hot teacher'. I like messing with him, but I don't necessarily think I love him or anything. At least not right now. The situation is way too complicated for us to fight over him. Besides, we don't even know how he feels about this whole thing. He said he dated Midnight-sensei for awhile."

Uraraka's expression became somber. "Yeah...he had a talk with her not too long ago and we...uhh..._overheard_ what they talked about. I guess he's still hung up about her, but he sees our Midnight-sensei as a different person than the one he dated, so he basically shut her down."

Hado gasped a bit. "No way! Izuku-sensei rejected her! Oooo I have to ask her about this the next time I see her! She was probably so pissed!"

"Actually...she took it pretty well. I guess she sort of liked him, but he couldn't do it."

"Well...I guess that makes some things easier. Maybe he's not even interested in dating right now."

"I guess that's possible..." Uraraka said, hanging her head. "And I just started understanding how I feel about him, too..." she groaned, and her senior patted her back reassuringly.

"Don't worry so much, Ochaco-chan! It'll work itself out one way or another! Who knows, maybe he likes younger girls!" the bluenette said with a smile. "But for real, have you gotten to feel his chest and abs!? He's totally jacked!"

Uraraka's blush seemed to heat up the entire hallway as Hado laughed as silently as she could manage.


	10. Chapter 10

**Welcome back!**

**Was out for the weekend due to a death in the family, so I'm back to writing now. Things are going to be a bit behind for a bit, but I'm still committed to releasing a chapter roughly once per week.**

**Also, I don't own anything from My Hero Academia or any songs that are referenced in this chapter.**

**I always appreciate the feedback with reviews, so keep em coming!**

**Enjoy!**

Izuku's hands trembled as he held onto the piece of paper, eyes wide in nervousness. Bakugo, Iida, and Kirishima sat in the teacher's lounge with varying expressions.

"What did you call us for, Deku? This better be important." Bakugo said, arms crossed impatiently. The other two had their eyebrows raised in interest.

"Kurogiri sent us a letter." That statement grabbed their attention, since the man had been in prison for months now and they had received no contact from him. The surprise was not unwelcome, however.

That changed when Izuku read the contents of the letter aloud.

"It's short, but it sounds bad. 'I was allowed one letter by request, so I'll keep this brief. There is a disturbance in the timeline, and things are not as normal as they seem. Be careful for any anomalies. I will send another letter with more detail if they allow it.'"

The men sat in silence as they pondered the meaning of their friend's words. Iida's eyes were shadowed by his glasses, but Izuku could see how narrowed they were. "What kind of anomalies could he be referring to? This sounds serious." the blue haired man said.

Bakugo was shockingly quiet. "There are too many possibilities and we don't know anything. We shouldn't freak out over this." he stated. Kirishima nodded at him.

"Katsuki is right. Until we find out more, we should just do what we've been doing. I'll keep an eye out for anything weird, but this could be anything or it could be nothing serious." the redhead said, leaning back on the couch.

Izuku hummed in agreement. "Yeah but still...I can't help but be worried. Why now? Everything was exactly the same this whole time, so what changed?" Bakugo scoffed.

"Stop panicking, Deku. We're gonna be fine." the Explosion user said, an uncharacteristically calm smile on his face. "You should be more worried about the Culture Festival that's tomorrow. We haven't rehearsed in a week."

The green haired man's panic multiplied. "Oh shit, you're right! Oh man oh man, I can't believe I forgot! We have to make sure we have the instruments and that the microphones all work and that our routine is flawless and _mutter mutter mutter_." he rambled, sweating profusely.

"Izuku, buddy. You're going to have a breakdown at this rate." Kirishima said, patting him on the shoulder while sweatdropping. "Relax. Class 1-A is using most of the same instruments and microphones in their performance, so they should all work for ours."

The green haired man ceased his mumbling and nodded. "A-anyway, just keep an eye out for anything weird. If you see anything, let the rest of us know."

With that, they disbursed for the day.

A man with slicked back, silver colored hair walked down the street, accompanied by a very short girl who had raspberry pink hair tied into two pigtails. "La Brava, it is time for our most glorious heist to occur. Have you made the necessary preparations?" he asked, looking down at his companion.

"Yes, Gentle! I have the main camera right here, and an extra just in case! The security systems have all been bugged, so I can flick them off when you get close. This is sure to bring millions of viewers, I know it!" she exclaimed, excitedly.

The man pat her gently on the head. "Indeed, La Brava. Heroes see themselves as infallible, but I will show the world the truth! Come, come! Let us prepare for the operation with a wonderful cup of tea from that cafe right there!" he said, pointing toward an unassuming cafe at the corner of the block.

After they had triple checked their plans for contingencies or errors, the duo approached the forest that led to the back of U.A. High School's walls. Putting his hand to an earpiece, he whispered. "I am in position. Do it."

"Right! Security systems are down, you should have about five minutes before they're back on." came the voice of La Brava through the earpiece.

"Beautiful. Be ready to come in behind me with the camera."

He snuck through the forest, using his quirk to create an escape route. His quirk, Elasticity, allowed him to make anything he touches elastic. By touching specific patches of the ground or trees, Gentle Criminal could essentially have a trampoline path through the forest.

He was always a bit nervous before a heist, but he knew that he would succeed. Gentle Criminal was one of the many who longed to be a hero, but failed to impress the staff at any of the hero schools.

He had been told that he simply didn't have the drive. Now he was a villain, albeit a peaceful one with no desire for violence.

Silently approaching the outer wall of U.A., he could hear the telltale sounds of live music echoing throughout the campus. 'As I expected, loud music is the perfect cover for me to infiltrate and cause a disruption. They were even nice enough to give me a stage!' he thought to himself with a smile.

He created one last patch of elastic ground before jumping onto it, launching himself into the air and into some bushes within the walls of U.A.

Meanwhile, Class 1-A was just finishing up their performance. The crowd of students was unimpressed at first, but once they started using their quirks to improve the effect, they started getting into it. Jiro was singing, Tokoyami and Kaminari were both on guitar, Yaoyorozu was on the synthesizer, and to everyone's surprise, Hagakure was on drums.

The remainder of the class was doing an intricate dance routine led by Ashido. With a combination of their quirks, Todoroki's ice was broken apart and sent out above the crowd to create a dazzling light show. Uraraka gave high-fives to students in the audience, allowing them to float around to their heart's content. Sero's tape provided a safety net for the daring folk.

By now, the crowd was absolutely stunned. Jiro's musical talents were phenomenal, and the energy that the class brought to the Festival was unrivaled. Izuku smiled as he held Eri within the crowd, Mirio standing beside him.

He looked up and was beyond happy to see the girl with an excited smile plastered on her face, hands waving in the air. It was the first time she had smiled so fully, and Izuku hoped he would get to see it a lot more often.

"_THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR COMING!"_ came the voice of Jiro, finishing up their performance. The crowd roared in approval, and Eri was so busy laughing and smiling that she looked back to the two men before it had a chance to disappear. Seeing them returning her smile with wide grins, her cheeks warmed.

However, she couldn't deny that she was thankful to be alive in that moment.

Izuku lifted the girl off of his shoulders and placed her on Mirio's. "Alright, looks like it's our turn. I'll see you guys in the crowd!" he exclaimed, weaving through the crowd with practiced ease toward the stage.

"We'll be cheering for you as loudly as we can, Sensei!" Mirio said, beaming with a wide smile.

"Do good, Izu!" Eri shouted, causing the man to turn toward her and give her a smile and a salute.

"Yes, ma'am!" he yelled back, before continuing his trek toward the stage. Upon arriving, he met with the members of Class 1-A as well as the rest of the time travellers. As the students were clearing many of their things off backstage, Kirishima, Iida, and Bakugo were dressed in their respective outfits for their performance.

"About time you showed up, Deku! We go on in five!" Bakugo grumbled, adjusting his tie. Izuku rolled his eyes.

"I had to watch Eri-chan, remember? She's with Mirio now, so she'll be alright. Where's my outfit?"

"Over there, by the bench." Iida pointed out. Walking over, Izuku quickly stripped out of his clothing and prepared to put on the black dress pants. They had all agreed, Bakugo begrudgingly complying, to wear the same outfits that they had the last time they performed.

Izuku had originally thought they would never perform as a group again after returning from the alternate past, but the ideas of his class inspired him. After a quick conversation with the Principal, the four of them were set to make their debut at this Culture Festival. As he got one leg through the pants, a wolf-whistle pierced the air backstage.

"Holy shit, Midoriya-sensei is hot!" cried Hagakure, jumping up and down in excitement. This drew the attention of many of the others in the class, who either blushed or whistled themselves.

He tried to ignore their stares as he continued dressing himself. From the black dress pants to the untucked white dress shirt and tie, all the way down to the gray vest and black dress shoes, Izuku blushed as he shot glances at the females of Class 1-A. Ashido apparently blushed purple, which was interesting.

Finishing up the final touches, and messing with his green locks, Izuku was ready to go. Turning toward his best friends, he smirked. "Ready boys?" he asked, holding out a fist to bump.

Kirishima bumped his fist with Izuku's. "Hell yeah, man! Just like old times, eh?"

Iida smirked, putting his fist against theirs. "I agree. I thought we'd be rusty, but I'm a bit surprised at how well it came back to us after nearly a year."

They stared at Bakugo, who merely had his arms crossed. Finally, he rolled his eyes and placed his fist with the others. "Just don't fuck it up, alright? We're gonna kill it."

After receiving a nod from Midnight, who was helping to host the events on-stage, the men made their way in front of the crowd. Many of them were confused. Who were these four guys that came up on-stage? Some of them recognized the TAs from around campus, but only the first year students and a few others truly knew who they were.

Walking to the center, Izuku cleared his throat and picked up a guitar. Turning behind him, he saw Bakugo sitting down at the drumset and twirling his drumsticks on his fingers. Iida was positioning himself at the synthesizer, playing a few chords to warm himself up. Kirishima was throwing a guitar strap over his shoulders and plucking each string of the bass to tune it.

They nodded to each other before they nodded to Midnight, who gave him a thumbs up and a smile. Looking out into the crowd, Izuku could clearly see Eri seated on Mirio's shoulders, a smile still locked on her face. Next to them, Hado floated slightly off the ground and waved.

He spoke into the microphone at the front. _"It'll be hard to top that performance, but we'll give it our best shot! We're the new TAs for the first years! Now let's get down to it!"_ he said, causing the other members of his group to sweatdrop as they knew what was coming next.

After a few moments of delay, Iida began playing on the piano. The notes created a much more gentle tone than the previous performance. After the first few measures, Izuku began to sing and strum chords on his guitar while Kirishima gently strummed his chords on the bass.

_People say, we shouldn't be together._

_Too young to know about forever,_

_But I say, they don't know,_

_What they talk-talk-talkin' about. _

_(talk-talk-talkin' about)_ echoed quietly from the other men into their own microphones.

His voice echoed throughout the makeshift auditorium, soft tones surprising many of the crowd members. Whereas the earlier musical performance was intense, this one was emotional enough to draw their attention in a different way. Hado turned to her blond classmate with a gobsmacked look. "I had no idea Izuku-sensei could sing like that!" she exclaimed, and Mirio mirrored it.

"You're right! He's doing great up there, and he sounds awesome!"

-_I just wanna tell the world that you're mine, girl~_

Suddenly, all four men began the first chorus as Bakugo added in the drumset.

_Oh!_

_They don't know about the things we do,_

_They don't know about the I Love You's,_

_But I bet you if they only knew,_

_They would just be jealous of us._

_They don't know about the up all nights,_

_They don't know I've waited all my life,_

_Just to find a love that feels this right,_

_Baby they don't know about-They don't know about us._

The crowd swayed back and forth to the beat. It was much less energetic than Class 1-A's performance, but the honesty in the lead singer's admittedly beautiful voice and the lyrics made it easy for the high school students to get into it.

After all, love songs were what teenagers lived for. This just happened to be a song that never existed in this world.

They continued into the second verse as Class 1-A's students stared at the stage with jaws dropped. "Holy shit...They can sing!?" Ashido cried out, eyes wide in shock.

Yaoyorozu had to shake her head to make sure she wasn't imagining it. "Quite well, too. I'm shocked that Bakugo-sensei would agree to something like this. It's so out of character for him, and yet he looks so into it."

Uraraka was starstruck. "Deku-sensei, and even Iida-sensei? They're all sound so good, like they've done this before!"

Jiro smiled at them. "I've gotta admit, I've heard them rehearse once or twice. They've probably done this before."

Hagakure turned to the Earphone Jack user and flailed her arms about in an attempt to be mad. "You knew, Kyoka!? And you didn't tell us!? How could you!?" she wailed, to which Jiro shrugged.

"I figured I'd keep their secret. More fun that way."

"You're mean, Kyoka!"

The purple haired girl turned back to the stage. "Keep listening, they're coming up on the third chorus. The song is almost over."

However, Uraraka couldn't hold in her thoughts. "Guys, do you think he's talking about Midnight-sensei? I've never heard this song before, so maybe they wrote it?"

They all thought collectively, but none of them could come to any conclusion since they didn't know the song. If they indeed _had_ wrote the song themselves, then it was possible. Otherwise, it might not be.

Before they knew it, the song had ended and the crowd roared in approval. The four men were all smiles as they looked out onto the crowd of happy students. However, Izuku's keen eyes picked up something interesting. It was midday, so there was little difficulty spotting the strange face poking out of the bushes.

"_THANK YOU! PLUS ULTRA!"_

As the crowd erupted into cheers once again, Midnight was waving at them to come off-stage so Class 1-B could do their performance. Apparently, it involved a castle and a giant dragon-looking head, as they began wheeling it out onto the stage. They took the instruments with them, and the black haired woman herself looked stunned.

"Since when could you _sing!?_" she exclaimed, mouth slightly open in shock. The men chuckled to each other.

"Learned how to do it in third year from Yamada. You should ask Aizawa, he might be able to do it too. He was our fifth."

"What!?"

"More importantly, have you noticed anything out of order?" he asked, changing the topics. Like a switch, Kayama was all business.

"No. We have security both inside and outside of the campus walls, as well as the U.A. barrier."

Izuku's gaze darkened. "We may have an intruder, then. Have someone double check the security; I saw some older guy hiding in the bushes during our performance."

Kayama immediately put her hand to her earpiece. "Hey, it's me. Check the barriers and security, we may have a break-in." Within seconds, her shocked expression returned as she looked at the men.

"You were right. Security had a breach just a few minutes ago. Where was he?" she asked, and Izuku was about to point out the man's hiding place before the crowd was looking upward. They all followed the crowd's gaze to see a man dressed in white pinstripe pants and what appeared to be a purple butler's jacket with an enlarged collar. He was perched atop the rafters of the stage.

"Hello, viewers! It is I, Gentle Criminal, back for your enjoyment at the prestigious U.A. High School! Today marks an important day for these kids, as they showcase their talents! However, should they _really_ be focusing on talent shows in the midst of all this villain activity? What about the Yakuza that were mysteriously defeated, and what of the League of Villains that remains at large? I believe they should be-GAH!" the man cried out, as a long tendril of black energy wrapped several times around his figure until it covered nearly his whole body.

The crowd screamed as he was dragged off the rafters and slammed directly onto the stage, creating a small crater with splintered wood. Izuku walked up to him, Blackwhip still wound tightly around the man who squirmed in place.

"Why can't-I can't reach it with my hands!" the man flailed, but since his hands were bound tightly to his side, he couldn't use his quirk. He managed to apply his Elasticity to the stage below him, but with Blackwhip still clutching him tightly, he merely bounced helplessly.

"I've heard of you. You cause trouble for internet views, bringing attention away from the real villains who need to be stopped. Gentle Criminal. I hope you're proud of yourself." the green haired man said. "You realize that people are trying to enjoy themselves, right?"

Gentle wiggled, stretching his fingers to try to touch the rope that bound him unsuccessfully. "You wouldn't understand!" he shouted. In his earpiece, he could hear La Brava checking in on him to see if he could escape.

"I think he understands just fine." Kayama said, walking up to him with handcuffs in hand. "Coming here was a mistake. I've heard stories about you, though. Didn't get accepted into U.A. when you were going into high school, so you became this." she gestured to his current position, "a villain who only cares about his own image. You could have been a great hero if you applied yourself."

He growled and continued to struggle on the ground. Suddenly, he raised a shocked gaze as La Brava showed herself leaping over U.A.'s outer wall. "Gentle, no!" she screamed, drawing attention her way.

"Get back here!" shouted Hound Dog, who was the outside security guard for the Festival.

"No! I won't let you take him! He's not a bad person!" she began to cry. "He saved me! I love him!"

Suddenly, the bound man was filled with unnatural strength courtesy of the girl's quirk, Love. Using it, his muscles bulged and he broke free from Izuku's Blackwhip. "The hero world needs to know that it's failing! I won't go down like this!"

Midnight went to rip her sleeve and restrain him, but was stopped by Izuku. "So what you're saying is that you're okay with crushing these students' hopes and dreams just because you can't take responsibility for your own failure?" he gestured to the kids in the crowd, many of whom had stuck around to spectate.

He continued. "You're an adult, so you should understand that these kids need every ounce of hope they can get. The world we live in is becoming more and more dangerous, but this school does much more than just teach kids to be heroes. It teaches students to be engineers, doctors, business owners, managers, inventors, you name it! These kids need to feel safe while they're learning, and you're taking that away from them for what? Petty internet fame?"

Gentle Criminal growled. "You can say all you want, but where was that hope when I needed it!? When anyone else needed it!? So many people get left behind!"

Izuku sighed. "You're right, but what you're doing isn't the right way to make changes. Turn yourself in, Gentle. You're lucky you never intentionally harmed anyone with your stunts, or your prison sentence would be a ton heavier. With this, you'd probably just have a bunch of misdemeanor violations."

"You'd never understand! This was the only path for me after that humiliation!"

"Then you leave me no choice."

In an instant, Izuku flared with power before a massive gust of wind and dust emanated from the stage, causing everyone to cover their eyes with their arms. Upon removing them, they saw their TA with his fist planted in Gentle's chest, glowing golden from his power and green lightning surging from his body. The villain was unconscious, and the only sound that could be heard was the screeching of La Brava as the teachers caught her.

"A shame, but I won't let you endanger my students."

The police were called, and Gentle Criminal was sent off for his relatively short prison sentence. La Brava was given a measly week in jail for assistance with crimes, but because she never participated, she was let off easy.

The Culture Festival continued for a short time afterward, but the energy level was noticeably lower than before the debacle. Izuku felt bummed out for multiple reasons as he sat in Heights Alliance.

First, the fact that the criminal (he wasn't dangerous enough to truly be considered a villain) interrupted the Festival right as their performance ended left a bad taste in his mouth. Second, Izuku was genuinely worried about how the man's internet popularity could negatively impact the perception of hero schools.

He was currently being shown the third and final reason for his bad mood.

"_A rising internet sensation known by the name 'Gentle Criminal' was finally captured after months of activity! Although many of his actions were misdemeanors such as small thefts, he never actually stole anything from his targets and merely immobilized the officers who came to the situation."_ A reporter said, snapshots of some of his heists being shown on the screen behind her. Multiple officers were unconscious or immobilized, but there were no signs of serious injury.

"_However, a more important question has arisen!" _ From this, the screen behind the woman flickered to a short video of Izuku apprehending Gentle Criminal from start to finish. From Izuku's Blackwhip slam to his super powered punch that instantly knocked the man out of commission, no detail could be missed from the shockingly great camera angle.

"_Who is this man who apprehended Gentle Criminal? U.A. released a suspiciously small amount of information about this mysterious powerhouse who moves faster than the eye can see, but from what we've been told he is one of the newest teachers for the hero courses! When we asked for a name, we were denied any further questions on the subject. However, from videos posted online from students, we know that the four men on stage," _the screen flashed to snapshot of the TAs singing their hearts out on stage to a wild crowd, _"can sing unbelievably well! More information on that particular topic coming up in thirty, back to you-"_

Izuku groaned as the video clip ended, letting Jiro have her phone back. "Man this sucks. First the Festival is ruined by that guy, now I have to watch out for the media every time I leave my room." he complained, holding his face in his hands.

Bakugo snickered devilishly. "Hehe, serves you right, Deku. Have fun with that."

"Don't rub it in, Kacchan. You _know_ how I feel about the media, even if they're not quite the same as what we're used to."

"Oh I know, but that's why this is so much funnier."

"Fuck off, Kacchan."

Bakugo continued laughing at his best friend's plight, while Iida sighed. "Although I commend your swift action, you must take responsibility for dealing with him in such a public setting. Sometimes, thinking before you act could be beneficial."

"Please spare me the lecture..."

Kirishima patted him on the shoulder. "Don't sweat it, buddy! At least you caught him in a super manly way! You're getting pretty good at that Blackwhip thing!" The encouragement didn't really help Izuku feel any better, but he appreciated the attempt.

Ashido, who had been silently and impatiently tapping her fingers on her crossed arms, spoke up. "Okay, so when were you four gonna tell us you were a freakin' boy band!? And singing a love song, too!?" she demanded, fixing Izuku specifically with a glare.

"I have to say, you all can sing shockingly well. Your voice in particular was a surprise, Bakugo-sensei." Jiro said with a smile. "It almost reminds me of my dad's voice, back in the day. A bit on the rough side, but you're very skilled."

The ash-blond man scoffed, looking away with arms crossed. "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before. 'Angry man can sing, woah!' It's nothing new." he mumbled, but if you looked closely enough you could see the ghost of a smile on his face at the praise.

"Just take the compliment."

"Tch."

"That's not important, though! Did you write that song yourselves?" Hagakure asked, floating pajamas bouncing on the couch in excitement. Most of the class, boys included, were curious and listening intently.

Iida shook his head. "No, we did not. It was a song from the past that was written after we arrived there. Apparently, our actions had enough of an impact to create an entirely new musical group. They were the ones to write the song, but Izuku liked it enough to learn to sing it."

Izuku's face brightened with a blush as he rubbed his neck. "I-It was a bit...therapeutic for me. Music made it a lot easier to deal with all of..._that_." he said, obviously uncomfortable with the topic. However he continued. "After a while, the others joined in and the whole band thing just sort of happened."

Asui croaked. "Did you like the song because of Midnight-sensei?" she asked bluntly, causing Uraraka to shoot her a wide-eyed look of surprise and an elbow into the frog girl's ribcage.

Kirishima chuckled mischievously. "Oh yeah he did! His first girlfriend ever, and Izuku couldn't help but fall for her _hard_. His singing is how he asked her out, actually."

The girls squealed in delight. "That's so cute!" Ashido exclaimed, much to Izuku's embarrassment.

"Alright alright, enough with my love life, okay guys?" he pleaded. "Besides, you all did amazing out there yourselves! I loved how you used your quirks for the special effects! In comparison, our performance seemed a little bland."

Yaoyorozu shook her head. "I disagree! Although our performance was certainly flashier, yours seemed to draw everyone's attention a lot better! A lot of people stopped what they were doing to check it out." she argued, and Kaminari nodded.

"She's right, you know! Our song was a lot louder and more energetic, but yours was like..." he hummed in thought for a few moments, "Like...I dunno, but people loved it!"

Everyone sweatdropped at the attempt. "Kaminari-chan, I worry for you sometimes." Asui said.

"Hey!"

What none of them mentioned was that Jiro had recorded the entire performance and planned to post it on social media.

The next day, Izuku sat in Principal Nezu's conference room along with the other teachers for an important meeting. A steaming pot of tea sat on the center table, and everyone was sitting at a U shaped desk.

"I'd like to start by saying thank you to Midoriya-kun here for his quick response to a possible threat during the Festival yesterday." Nezu said with his trademark smile. "Thanks to you, we not only prevented a possibly dangerous situation but have also shown the media that we are still capable of defending our students. Since All Might's official retirement, many have questioned whether hero schools are protecting or endangering their students."

Izuku rubbed his neck with a soft smile. "It was nothing, really. Anyone would have done the same, I was just the quickest." he offered, but Snipe shook his head.

"Being the first to pull the trigger can win a lot of fights, Midoriya. Don't discredit yourself."

"T-thanks, then."

"Moving on to a less positive topic..." Nezu said, clicking a small stack of papers on the desk together, "Since the battle several months ago, the League of Villains has been alarmingly silent. There were reports that two of their members were at the Yakuza base when it was attacked, but they seemed to betray the Hassaikai during that battle."

Izuku nodded. "That's right. Nighteye told me that Himiko Toga and Twice were there as some kind of peace offering between the Shie Hassaikai and the League, but it looks like it fell apart."

Iida hummed in thought. "If the League has been quiet since All For One's loss, they could be trying to gather new members."

Aizawa jumped in with a grumble. "Or, it's possible that they're strengthening the members they already have. Going off the radar and away from civilization makes it much more difficult for us to track them, and if they're not committing crimes then we have no info on their movements."

Present Mic leaned back, hands behind his head. "But isn't that totally not like them, though? I thought the League wanted to be seen all over the news, and now they're just chickening out?"

"Without All For One, the most likely leader right now is Tomura Shigaraki. All the information we have describes him as temperamental and immature, which is completely the opposite of what we've seen recently." Kayama said, adjusting her glasses. "Making deals with a Yakuza gang and backstabbing them seems a bit too clever for him."

Nezu nodded, clasping his paws together. "I agree. This new development is most concerning, but even without Kurogiri-kun the League has managed to evade capture." The mouse-dog-bear looked toward the TAs. "His information about the League's members has been most helpful, but it seems they have abandoned their previous hideouts after his defection."

Kirishima nodded. "Yeah. Have you found any information on this 'Doctor' he talked about? He's some kind of mad scientist who can create those Nomu that the League has used in their attacks."

"Nothing yet. The coordinates that Kurogiri gave us seemed correct, but he seems to have left that lab as well. The tanks were empty, and any Nomu are gone." Nezu explained in a solemn tone. "It is unfortunate that the League recovered from their loss so quickly, as we could have pressed the attack with the advantage had they remained still."

Aizawa sighed. "Nothing we can do about that now. He'll turn up eventually, but for now we should focus on preparing our students for the battles that are to come."

The Principal hummed in agreement with a smile. "Aizawa-kun is right! Normally the first year students would not have work studies at all, but I am considering encouraging them to take internships over the summer for more experience."

Many heads in the room nodded in approval. After a short discussion on the pros and cons of overworking their hero students, the vote to allow the summer internships was passed unanimously.

"Wonderful! I'm certain that our students will benefit greatly from the experience!" Nezu clapped his paws together. "Is there anything else that requires a discussion?"

The four time travellers shared a look, before Izuku cleared his throat. "Actually, Nezu sir..." he started, grabbing the room's attention, "Kurogiri sent us another letter earlier this week, saying something about 'anomalies' with the timeline and to be careful for anything weird."

Several pairs of eyes shot open, and Kayama stuttered. "I-is that what's been happening!?" she asked, shocked as attention turned to her. "Recently I've had...some weird dreams. They feel more like memories, but they're not mine."

Yamada sighed in relief. "Girl, I'm glad I'm not the only one! Hoo boy, there's no way I taught Shota here how to sing! He would have never agreed to it!"

Bakugo scoffed and rolled his eyes. "So that's what's going on. You're seeing stuff that happened while we were in the past."

"Hold up listener! That actually happened!?"

Aizawa's eyes bugged out of their sockets as he stared at his trembling hands. "I-I really...?" he stuttered, looking like he was about to faint.

"Sure did, Dry Eyes. That song we sang at the Festival yesterday? It's intended to have a fifth member. You were that fifth man."

"_YEEEEAAAAAHHH! _I knew he could sing this whole time! You've been holding out on me Shota!" Yamada was far too excited to hear that his best friend could participate in one of his passions, while the man in question was...less than excited.

That is, if his head slamming against the desk is any indication.

"As humorous as this is, what does it mean?" Cementoss asked, hand on his chin in thought.

Everyone thought in silence for a few seconds before Nezu spoke up. "If Kayama-kun, Yamada-kun, and Aizawa-kun are all recovering memories that they never had, it is possible that others may do the same." His expression darkened. "This could have serious repercussions if the wrong person recovers memories of the alternate past. From what you've told us, Midoriya-kun, what happened was not exactly pleasant."

Izuku nodded with a serious look. "Most of the people involved may just think they're strange dreams and visions, and move on. We never encountered anyone from the League of Villains besides All For One, and..." he trailed off, looking to Nezu for confirmation which he received in the form of a nod, "in that timeline, he was killed."

Toshinori, who had been silent throughout this process, finally spoke. "Midoriya-shounen, do you think...?" he mumbled the ending, but Izuku nodded.

"It's possible that All For One could recover memories as well, even though he died in the alternate past. Or he might not, who knows. This is something that probably has never happened before, so your guess is as good as mine."

The Principal rubbed his temples. "If your actions in the past are starting to affect the present, it raises many more questions. What if someone died in the past who is still alive now? The opposite is also true: what if someone who was supposed to die...didn't?" he turned to Toshinori, who nodded at him.

"And how far do the effects go?" The retired Symbol of Peace crossed his arms. "With how different the past became when you four were there, what if someone who is supposed to be born is not? Do they just disappear, or what?"

Kayama shivered. "And what if someone was born, who wasn't supposed to be?"

Another moment of silence followed before Bakugo propped his feet upon the desk lazily. "Worrying about the what-ifs won't do us any good. It's not like we can go back and change everything back, we could just screw everything up even more."

Kirishima nodded. "I have to agree with Katsuki on this one. We may just have to suck it up and deal with this. Shouldn't we find some kind of way to explain this stuff, though? People talk all the time, and if they start having strange visions and dreams all the time won't it get messy?"

"There's nothing we can do besides hope that the alternate memories are passed off as odd dreams or delusions. Should anything alarming come to any of you, I would suggest letting me know personally so I can address it with everyone here. It goes without saying that this particular piece of knowledge must stay between us, or we risk even harsher consequences." Nezu said, eyes slanted slightly at the seriousness of the situation.

Everyone agreed that this was the best course of action, but as they were leaving Izuku felt a tug on his sleeve. Looking behind him, he saw Kayama with a sad expression. He told his friends that he would catch up with them soon, and they left him in the hallway with his old love interest.

"Hey..." she said, nervously.

"Hey."

The normally confident woman was anything but confident as she held one arm with her other. "I...I'm sorry." she said, unable to look him in the eyes.

Izuku raised an eyebrow. "What for? You did nothing wrong."

She shook her head, black hair swishing behind her. "A few nights ago, I saw some of my old memories...of us."

"Oh..."

"Yeah..." Kayama gulped. "You really had some harsh times, didn't you?"

He nodded with a weak smile. "Thankfully you were there. It definitely helped."

They shared a chuckle before Izuku turned to leave. Before he could take a full step, he felt two arms snake their way around his chest.

"K-Kayama-san?" he sputtered, tilting his head sideways to look at her with wide eyes. Her face was buried in his back, and she clutched at his shirt while a few sobs escaped her.

"Hey...you okay?" Izuku asked, hesitantly.

She nodded into his back.

"You wanna talk about it?"

She shook her head in the negative. "Just let me hold you like this for a bit...please..." she begged.

He complied, laying his own hands over hers and allowing the woman to clutch him like a teddy bear. After nearly a full minute of her embrace, Kayama loosened her grip and Izuku felt a pinch on his rear, causing him to release a yelp of surprise.

"Hehe, I've still got it." Kayama snickered, appreciating Izuku's furious blush. "Even if it was never really _me_ back then, it sure feels like it was. And stop calling me Kayama-san, it makes me feel old." she chided, much to the man's embarrassment.

"O-okay, Kayama. This is still so weird."

"You're telling me. Try having someone else's boyfriend in your arms but it's technically yours."

"I don't know how to respond to that, and I don't think I want to."

Kayama laughed, crossing her arms with a smirk. "Haha, you're learning!" she exclaimed, before her expression turned somber once more.

After several moments of silence, Izuku sighed. "You look like you want to say something, so just say it. Please."

"If...If I start to remember all of that stuff...Would you...?" she trailed off, failing to fully voice her question. Even so, Izuku had a good idea of where she was going.

He shook his head. "Let's not think on that too much, alright? All this time travel and after-effects mumbo jumbo makes my head hurt." That earned a giggle out of the woman, before he wrapped his arms around her gently.

"To answer your question though...I don't know, maybe? This whole thing is still so strange that I don't know what to think anymore. It just keeps getting weirder."

His response lowered her mood. "If I catch feelings or something out of all this, would you at least...let me sleep with you?" she asked, before immediately waving her hands in front of her with a slight blush. "Not that kind of sleeping! Unless you want to, I mean! I-I mean-"

She was cut off by Izuku's boisterous laughter, which echoed through the halls of the school and caused her to pout. "What!?" she demanded.

"It's just-_heh-_normally I'm the one-" he couldn't control his chuckles, only making the woman glare with her arms crossed, "I'm usually the one with the stuttering problem!"

"You know how I was surprised you could sing?" Izuku wiped a tear from his eye and looked down at Kayama with a confused look before he flinched at her murderous glare.

"Uhh, yeah what about it?" He was genuinely afraid of her response.

"This Saturday, you're gonna be singing for me. Personally."

"Well that doesn't sound too-"

"Oh, did you think you'd be singing a nice song like the one yesterday?" Izuku trembled as Kayama's eyes glinted dangerously, pulling her whip from her belt and cracking it once. "No no no, you'll be singing a _different_ kind of song for me when I have you hung upside down like a piece of meat in my bedroom while I torture the ever living _hell_ out of you. Your screams will be-" she licked her lips with a blush adorning her features, "_delicious_."

Bakugo, Iida, and Kirishima were about to enter Heights Alliance before a violent rush of wind passed them by, accompanied by a scream moments later.

"The hell was that?" Bakugo mumbled but for some reason, every idea he came up with made him smile.

_Meanwhile, in an unknown location..._

The sounds of sobbing echoed throughout the abandoned church, along with the sound of furniture being thrown and shattering.

"_AAAAGGGHHH!"_ screamed the man, clutching his head in anguish. "Why, Mother!? Why, Father!? Why would you tease me with these dreams!? After all I've been through!?" He began scratching at his neck furiously until the already dry skin bled, covering his fingers in red.

His tantrum was largely ignored by the other denizens of the hideout, who merely sidestepped anything that was thrown and kept their distance from the aggressor. A man with black hair and stitched, charred skin rolled his eyes. "Is he done yet? He's been like this for hours and I'm getting tired of it."

A relatively short blonde girl wearing a school outfit with her hair tied into two buns was currently sitting on the altar kicking her legs back and forth without a care in the world. Her face was set with a permanent blush and a manic smile as she ran her finger down a sharp knife's blade. "Poor Tomura-kun! All beat up over mommy and daddy, even though they're dead!" she said with mock concern.

"If he loses it, I'm out of here."

"Aww, you wouldn't leave us like that, would you Dabi-kun? If he can't lead us, you'd probably be the next best bet! Especially since Kurogiri-kun left us!"

"And be stuck with you? Fat chance, Toga." he replied, a bored expression on his face as he pointedly ignored his leader's tantrum.

"You know you love me!"

"Not even a little, you psycho."

She pouted even more, before she was forced to lean backward and avoid a rogue pew that was launched by Tomura. "Hey, what gives!? Can't a girl get a bit of a warning!?" she shouted with a hurt expression, but it was ignored.

"Why...why why _why WHY WHY!?"_ Tomura Shigaraki screamed, removing his father's hand from his face and staring at it. "You were the worst father I could have ever asked for...You hated me and you hated our family, and yet I see you being nice in my dreams! Even in death you taunt me!? Showing me the life I could have had!? _HOW DARE YOU!"_

The man with pale blue hair gripped the hand with all five fingers, turning it to dust with his quirk. Panting heavily, Tomura began to calm down as he realized what he had done. He collapsed to his knees before gripping his face with his own hands.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Tomura Shigaraki cried.

The sound was raspy and filled with agony, and the audience couldn't help but shudder at it. "Mother...Father...where were the heroes when I needed them?..." he mumbled in between sobs. "Why was I left all alone?...Why?..."

Dabi pointed lazily at the leader of the League of Villains. "Think we should help him?"

Spinner, a man with a lizard-like appearance, shook his head. "Just let it happen. He'll get over it."

Twice, a man who normally struggled to keep himself 'whole', was shockingly silent. It was as if he sympathized with the boy from a similar experience, and it helped him maintain what little sanity he had for the moment.

Another sob wracked Tomura's body as he stared at his own hands like they were foreign.

"Why were you the only one who cared..._Sensei?_"


	11. Chapter 11

**Welcome back to the stage of history...**

**Not really, but I'm happy you're here! As a random piece of conversation, I finally splurged and bought myself a memory foam mattress and pillow and HOLY HELL it makes a difference.**

**By that, I mean it's a million times harder to get out of bed for work in the mornings.**

**Either way, I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday season and they got an opportunity to hang out with their friends or families! I considered doing a sort of one-shot chapter in the middle for a holiday special, but was so caught up with real life that I never got around to writing it.**

**Also, Happy New Year! May fortune, happiness, and good health be yours throughout 2020.**

**Anyway, review if you like and I hope you enjoy it!**

Izuku walked down the street in tight sweatpants and a hoodie, rubbing his hands together to keep them warm from the winter chill. The hero ranking ceremony was set for later that evening, and he had decided to purchase groceries to make a big meal for everyone. Although Kirishima was a much better cook, Izuku had found that he liked seeing people enjoy his cooking.

With his hood over his head, the man's hair was matted to his face. Now that it was quite a bit longer, he had to constantly brush it away from his face.

'I really have to get this cut, but I'm starting to like this look.' he thought to himself, twirling a curly lock on his index finger.

After arriving at the supermarket, Izuku put his hood back down and began gathering ingredients from their respective aisles. Pork, chicken, eggs, oil, breadcrumbs, spinach, and several other vegetables sat in his shopping cart as he went to check out. He waited in line until he was next.

"Hello sir, how are you today?" the kind young man at the register asked. His voice was laced with exhaustion, and it was obvious that he only asked out of courtesy rather than actual curiosity.

However, it didn't bother Izuku. "Pretty well. How about you?"

"Could be worse." the boy said, cutting the conversation off there and beginning to scan the customer's items. He was just about to hand Izuku's receipt to him when he stared for a few seconds. "Hey, has anyone told you that you look like that guy that's been on the news since last week?"

Izuku gulped, but he tried to keep his surprise hidden. "Uhh, which guy on the news? There's a lot of people that end up there."

The boy pondered for a moment, holding Izuku's receipt hostage as he continued his pseudo-interrogation. Suddenly he snapped his fingers. "That's it! You look like the guy that took down that Gentle Criminal guy! The one from U.A.'s Culture Festival!" he exclaimed, excitement overpowering any exhaustion he may have had.

Someone in the line behind him leaned forward for a closer look. "You know, he's right! If I'm being honest, you look identical! You must be him!" she said a bit loudly, catching other peoples' attention.

"Wait, he's the guy from U.A.?"

"He's a bit taller than I thought he'd be..."

"That's him, Kaa-san! He's the guy who can sing super well! Do you remember when I showed you the video!?"

Izuku panicked and chuckled slightly. Although he knew he'd be noticed eventually, he didn't think it would be this soon. "Ahah...I'm sorry, but you must think I'm someone else. Do you mind if I get my receipt?" he asked, sweat dripping slightly down his temple.

The boy behind the counter obliged, but Izuku knew that he had to leave quickly in order to avoid the media that would jump at the chance to learn anything about him. Flipping his hood over his head, Izuku walked quickly out the door and onto the streets once more.

However, the small mob of people taking photos of him with their phones caught the attention of others. Anyone within hearing distance could recognize the telltale screeching and squealing of fans who saw their favorite hero off-duty.

As much as he tried to avoid the overwhelming amount of attention he was drawing, Izuku's breathing starting becoming erratic.

'I need to get out of here! This is too much! Way too much! I'm not ready for this!' he thought frantically, walking pace becoming faster by the second until he was practically jogging with grocery bags in hand. He was starting to hyperventilate now, past experiences with the media stressing him out more than he expected.

Izuku now had a small horde of bystanders trying to get his attention, even for a moment. As he turned a corner and passed an alley, a hand reached out and snagged his hoodie, dragging him with surprising strength. The teacher dropped his groceries and prepared a One For All powered fist, but his eyes widened as he noticed who had grabbed him.

"H-Hawks!?" he cried out in surprise. The man in question smirked, releasing him but beckoning him to come further into the alley. He was dressed in a black shirt with a wavy pattern, and a beige jacket lined with fur. His messy, ash-blond hair was swept back and his chin was adorned with the beginnings of stubble. Stretching from his back were two large, red wings.

"That's me, bud! Don't wear the name out."

"B-but what are you doing here!? Wh-"

"Shh, do you _want_ them all to come here or not?" he asked, to which Izuku shook his head. "Good. I figure you're the one that everyone is losing their minds over, right?"

"Y-yeah, that's me I guess. I'm not even sure why people care about me; I'm just a teacher. More importantly, why does one of the top heroes care who I am?" Izuku sighed, sitting down beside a dumpster so nobody could look into the alley and see him. Hawks stretched, letting his wings unfold and feathers move a bit.

"You took down a guy who broke into U.A. high on a day where security was extra tight. That wouldn't be very surprising if it weren't for the fact that you did it so quickly. Plus, from what I can see, you must have two quirks, am I right?" Hawks noted with a carefree expression, as if he already knew the answer.

Izuku nodded, and Hawks looked toward the main road as a few bystanders walked past, putting his hands in his pockets. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for the hero ranking ceremony or something?" the green haired man asked.

The winged man waved off his concern with a scoff. "Eh, I really couldn't care less about that. It's all just a popularity contest anyway. With All Might retired, Endeavor will probably get number one and a whole hell of a mess will come out of that. Besides, even if I get the number one spot, it won't change anything."

Izuku hummed in agreement. "You're right, but...do you really not care about it at all? I know you're usually pretty laid back, but this is a bit extreme."

"Nah, I work hard so I can relax harder. If they say I'm the best hero, I'd probably give off the wrong impression for kids who want to be heroes." Hawks admitted, putting his hands behind his head casually. "But since you know so much about me, answer me this: who are _you_?"

"..." Izuku flinched, somewhat expecting that question but still not being totally prepared for it. "I-I'm just a teacher at U.A. My name is Izuku Midoriya, and my hero name is Deku."

"Deku, huh?" If one looked closely enough, they could see the winged man's eyes narrow slightly. "Interesting name, but I have no right to judge. How long have you been a hero? I've never heard of you until recently."

Izuku thought of his options. He could be honest and say he'd been a pro hero for multiple years, or he could play it safe and say he started recently. "I've only officially been a pro for a little less than a year, and I've been a teacher at U.A. for almost that entire time."

"Why become a teacher so soon after going pro?" Hawks' questions were getting more and more difficult to answer with lies, and Izuku realized just how cold and calculating the man could be despite his warm and carefree persona.

"I was a teacher before I even went pro, so maybe that's why they were interested in me. Especially with all the stuff going on with the League, they've been in dire need of good educators rather than just experienced heroes."

Hawks rubbed his chin in thought before smiling. "Well you definitely have the look of a teacher, so I'd believe it! But still, having two quirks is extremely rare! If I didn't have to look my best for this stupid ceremony I'd ask for a spar!"

Izuku smiled at the offer. "I might take you up on the offer, but just so you know I'm not the type to hold back."

"Heh, I don't expect you to. Do you patrol around these parts often?" Hawks responded with a quick laugh.

The teacher stood up and gathered his spilled grocery bags. "I only get to patrol a few days a week since being a teacher takes up most of my day. I'm usually out here at night on weekends, though."

"Wanna patrol together sometime?"

Izuku's eyes widened. That question seemed to come out of nowhere. "Y-you're sure? I'm just a small name hero right now, and being seen with one of the top heroes would be a bit suspicious. Especially with all the hype around me at the moment."

Hawks chuckled. "Of course! People love to see heroes team up for patrols. Makes 'em feel extra safe, you know? Anyway one last thing before you go." he said with a smirk. "I bet you could get any woman you want with a voice like yours. Got anyone special?"

Izuku blushed slightly. "Uhh...not really. Why is _that_ of all things important to you?"

The winged man shrugged innocently. "No reason in particular, I wouldn't worry about it too much if I were you. Anyway, cheer for me at the ceremony! See ya, Deku!" With that, Hawks spread his wings and leapt into the air before flying away.

Staring at where the man was a moment ago, Izuku snorted a quick breath out of his nose.

"Huh. Weird guy."

The flying man grit his teeth as he soared through the sky, his recent dreams coming to the surface. He remembered someone say that you couldn't imagine faces in your dreams, and that every face in a dream was someone you've seen at least once before. But he had seen this man's face in his dreams before he had seen him on the news, and he was easily recognizable so mistaking him for someone else was next to impossible.

What are the odds of him dreaming about a man he'd never met, only for him to appear on the news less than two weeks later? And he was next to the other three from his dream as well, making it far too connected to be a coincidence.

'So he's real after all. This changes _everything_.'

He made a mental note to take every single one of his dreams extremely seriously from that point forward.

Later that evening, all of the residents of Heights Alliance sat down to watch the hero ceremony on TV. As Hawks had predicted, Endeavor was labeled the number one hero, and he was the number two. A few notable names such as Mirko, Edgeshot, Ryukyu, and Kamui Woods were part of the top ten.

During the presentation, Hawks made a big deal about how Endeavor was ranked higher than him despite having lower popularity ratings. Although he appeared to be simply stirring up trouble for fun, Izuku noticed how his gaze sharpened slightly when he looked at the Flame Hero.

Bakugo scoffed. "Princess is still at number 23? I guess all the showboating doesn't help her popularity as much as she thinks."

Ashido jumped at the opportunity to tease her teacher. "Ooo~ Speaking of which, didn't you hang out with her a few days ago?" she asked with a knowing smirk.

The ash-blond growled a bit. "Why do you even care?"

"Because you two would be cute together!"

"Tch, yeah right. We can barely hold a real conversation." he said, crossing his arms while sitting on the couch.

"You didn't deny that you two hung out! And what if _you're _the reason she can't hold a conversation with you?"

"You're seriously annoying sometimes. If you already knew, why did you ask?"

"Because it's fun to get under your skin, Baku-sensei!" Ashido said with a cheerful smile. If it were anyone but Bakugo receiving it, they would have a hard time not responding with a smile of their own.

"What did I tell you about calling me that? And we only saw each other for a few hours. She's alright. A little annoying sometimes, and she likes to piss me off for no reason." he noted, rolling his eyes.

"That's probably because she likes you, ya know. Some girls do that because they like to see how you react." the pink girl said, poking him in the shoulder. He swatted the finger away with another growl.

"As if. She's too busy shoving her huge ass into every camera she can find."

"With or without her quirk? I have to admit she's got a fantastic ass."

"..." Bakugo was silent, refusing to grace Ashido with a response.

Uraraka hummed in thought. "Bakugo-sensei, do you like Mt. Lady? It's a serious question, so don't blow it off." she said, wagging a finger in his face in a chastising manner.

Yaoyorozu's face lit up at the topic. "Oh, are we going to help one of our teachers get the woman of his dreams!? Or man of his dreams, I'm not the type to judge." she said, shrugging.

"I'm not fucking gay!" Bakugo cried out, throwing his hands up in the air with exasperation. "Why does everyone think I'm gay!?"

Kirishima leaned over the couch beside his best friend with a laugh. "Because you're the only one of us that hasn't had a girlfriend yet, man! Even Tenya had one for a while there, remember? I don't think you've even kissed a girl before!" The comment made the Explosion user groan.

"Grrr, don't remind me, Stupid Hair..." he seethed, a vein on his forehead throbbing.

Izuku chuckled from the other couch. "Actually, you usually blow everybody off and barely remember anyone's name unless you really care about them. The fact that you went out of your way to see her tells me there's something there, Kacchan. She's already reached the nickname stage, but hasn't gotten to the family name stage."

Uraraka tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean by 'stages', Deku-sensei?"

Bakugo glared at him, but Izuku responded with a smile and three fingers in the air. "Kacchan has three levels to how he refers to people. The first is him giving you a demeaning nickname and he forgets you after he's done. The second stage is remembering your actual name, but he'll use the nickname anyway since you haven't fully earned his respect. The third and final stage is using your actual name without any outright hostility. As far as I know, Tenya and Eijiro are the only ones with the honor of the last one. Mine's a bit more unique, since we've called each other Kacchan and Deku since I can remember. Right now, Mt. Lady is in stage two."

The explanation elicited multiple 'oh's of recognition, while Bakugo himself had to hold himself back from strangling his childhood friend. He hated to admit that the greenette knew him down to the smallest detail, but having his in-depth analysis announced to the whole class was just disgraceful.

Eijiro snapped his fingers. "Either way, I think you two would be a good fit, Katsuki! Even if it's casual or whatever, I say go for it. What do you have to lose?"

"My dignity and my sanity."

Chuckles erupted around the room, and the ash-blond growled again. Hagakure waved her arms around. "But you'd be dating one of the top twenty-five heroes! Isn't that cool!?"

Izuku's head shot up suddenly. "Speaking of top twenty five heroes, I actually met with Hawks earlier this morning." he said, shocking mostly everyone.

"No way, really!? How did you find him?" Uraraka asked, practically bouncing in her seat.

"He actually found me." Izuku said, chuckling and rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Some people at the market recognized me from the video on the internet, and started following me around. Hawks snagged me and hid me in an alley until they left."

Tokoyami hummed in thought. "But why would he want to talk with you, all of a sudden? It seems quite unusual."

Izuku shrugged. "He just wanted to get to know me, I guess. He asked a bunch of weird questions, then asked if I wanted to patrol with him sometime."

Iida adjusted his glasses. "That's certainly interesting. What would he gain by being with you on patrol?"

Yaoyorozu put her hand to her chin in thought. "Perhaps he wants to boost Midoriya-sensei's popularity by association? It's a bit of a stretch, though."

Asui croaked in response. "Maybe he's just that nice?"

"There's no way that's the truth." Bakugo scoffed, leaning back into the couch with arms crossed. "People like him, the nice guys who don't seem to care about anything in the world, they're _always_ hiding something. Deku is the only person I know who's even close to that nice for no reason."

Izuku scratched his head in thought. "Maybe I'll figure out more if I actually end up going on patrol with him. From what I've heard, he's a bit of a loner so he probably has some good reason for asking me to come with him."

Only a few days later, Izuku received word from the Principal that Hawks had visited the campus looking for him. After meeting shortly with the number two hero, they decided to go on patrol that afternoon together. Nezu was skeptical of the man's reasons for inviting one of his teachers to a seemingly routine patrol, but allowed it in favor of Izuku's personal growth.

The fact that having one of his staff members seen with the number two hero in public would make Izuku, and by extension U.A., seem more capable was only a convenient side effect.

The greenette was walking toward the meeting location, dressed in his hero costume. Lunch hour was just about to end, so citizens crowded the streets on their way back from their respective restaurant choices. All the while, Izuku received a strange variety of looks ranging from confusion to outright sexual propositions.

That particular one was something he wasn't used to in the slightest. In the past, being a popular hero was seen more along the lines of notoriety rather than celebrity status. Instead of praising good heroes for keeping them safe, civilians tended to be more cautious of powerful heroes in case they turned into villains. Because of this, Izuku would catch himself thinking the worst of people who knew him by popularity alone.

Turning onto a side street, he noticed a small crowd in the distance. Squealing fangirls and bystanders taking photos dominated the group, and as Izuku approached he realized that it was right outside of the coffee shop that Hawks had designated as their meetup point. Slowly, people from the group turned and began to notice his arrival.

Enough attention was shifted away from him for Hawks to notice his temporary partner, and he waved lazily with a smile on his face. "Yo, Deku! You made it!" he exclaimed, ignoring the interested looks and questions of his miniature fanclub.

Izuku waved back with a smile. "Glad to see you made it here before me, Hawks! Saves me the trouble of looking for you."

"I'd probably be the one to find you first, if I had to."

"I could always just look up, you know."

"Touché. Ready to get started? I've got my usual route but we can mix it up a little if you want." the winged man said, putting his hands in his pockets.

The green haired man did his best to ignore the whispers of the crowd, who were all wondering who he was. Some of them recognized him from the news, and it didn't take long for word to spread about his identity. Soon enough, he had people asking all sorts of questions that went from his favorite foods to whether he had a girlfriend.

He pointedly ignored the last question and any similar ones, including the various requests for him to serenade them with his singing voice.

"Sure. I usually move from Central Musutafu over to Kiyashi Ward, then loop back through the South side of Musutafu near Dagobah Beach." Izuku said, adjusting his gloves. "It's a pretty scenic route, but it hits a few major crime areas along the way."

Hawks smirked before running a hand through his hair and chuckling. "Sounds good to me, but we should stop for lunch sometime soon. I was so hyped to team up with you for the day that I forgot to eat!" His comment drew laughter from the bystanders, but Izuku wasn't fooled.

The man was trying to talk to him privately at some point today.

After agreeing with him, the two began walking away. As they passed, children and adults alike would wave and call out to Hawks with words of encouragement or thanks. The man soaked up the attention like a sponge, smiling and waving right back with practiced nonchalance.

"So tell me a bit about yourself, Deku. Aside from being a teacher or singing like an angel, that is. I know I said it before but you really do have a great voice." Hawks opened with small talk. Not very original, but Izuku figured they had to start somewhere if they planned to work together.

"I actually learned to sing from Present Mic, believe it or not. Other than what you already know, I guess I could tell you about my quirk. I used to study heroes and their quirks as a hobby, so I have a decent idea about yours already."

The winged man raised an eyebrow. "Present Mic taught you? That's interesting. But you said you used to study quirks? What exactly do you mean by that?" The question seemed harmless enough, so Izuku figured he could be totally honest for once.

With a smile, the greenette responded. "As a kid, I always liked watching heroes in action. My own quirk manifested pretty late since it had a nasty side effect of breaking my bones if I wasn't careful, so until then I would write notes on a bunch of pros. Stuff like how their quirks work from a scientific standpoint, to thinking of ideas for new moves and good heroes that would partner well with them. After my own quirk showed up, the habit sort of just stuck with me."

Hawks blinked. "That was a lot more than I was expecting. I only turned pro a few years ago, but did you have anything written about me?" he asked with a devious smirk.

"Not really anything in-depth, to be honest. I know that you can manipulate the feathers of your wings, but I'm not sure to what extent."

"If you must know, I can manage each and every one of them within a certain range. If they're all moving along the same path, I can handle them at a pretty high speed. If I'm trying to have multiple different paths or more delicate maneuvers, both the number of feathers and the speed I can handle them decreases pretty quickly." Hawks responded, walking with his hands clasped behind his head casually.

Izuku had to hold himself back from asking a thousand questions about his quirk, and decided to enlighten the man with a bit of information about his own. "That's pretty cool! I bet you have a lot of uses for them already, so anything I come up with on the spot wouldn't be anything new to you. My own quirk is an overcharged physical enhancer, and the other allows me to manipulate whips of black energy from my hands."

Hawks' gaze shot to the street, where a boy was running through the crosswalk after a small dog that had broken free of its leash. Oncoming vehicles honked their horns and their tires screeched as they tried to stop. Before the boy could be hit, a small wave of feathers lifted him up and out of harm's way, depositing him on the sidewalk along with his dog.

"Thank you so much, Hawks! You saved my boy!" a woman yelled from across the street, tears in her eyes but relief evident on her face.

"Not a problem, ma'am! Make sure not to buy cheap leashes if you take your pets into the city! It can get dangerous!" he shouted back casually, as if this was an everyday occurrence. He then turned back to his partner without skipping a beat.

"Sorry about that. You said your physical enhancement is overcharged, and it used to hurt you to use it? Heh, I bet you had a fun childhood." he said, sarcastically with a quick bark of laughter.

Izuku sweatdropped. "If only I did, maybe I wouldn't be playing sidekick to someone who's-" he suddenly whipped an arm out and a tendril of Blackwhip snagged an elderly man's hat out of the air, which had blown away in the wind, "-faster than I am." he finished as he lowered the hat back to the man, who accepted it gratefully.

"Thank you very much, young man! Are you a new hero around these parts?"

Hawks chuckled for a few seconds, seeing how Izuku barely skipped a beat in his sentence. He decided to do his partner a favor. "This is Deku! He's a newer hero but he's a good one! Keep an eye out for him, would ya?" the winged man said, earning himself a raised eyebrow from Izuku.

"I most certainly will! The younger generation of heroes seems to be doing quite well! Have a safe patrol!" the man said, tipping his hat with a quick bow before walking off.

"Not bad, you saw that one not long after I did." Hawks said with an amused smirk. "I could have done it myself, but I'm glad I got to see one of your quirks in action. You've got pretty good control over that thing to reach that distance."

The One For All successor scratched his head with an embarrassed chuckle. "It wasn't easy, that's for sure. This quirk only showed up a few years ago, which I don't think has ever happened before. I bet yours wasn't easy to control at first either, so you probably know what I mean." Izuku had only had the quirk for a little less than a month, but he had worked on it at almost any opportunity so he figured he could stretch the truth a bit.

"You bet it wasn't! It took months just to move the feathers off of my back, and learning to put them back was a lot harder than I expected as a kid. So what are the limits of that black stuff, anyway?" Hawks probed, honestly interested in what his partner had to say.

Izuku was still cautious, but he decided to sate the man's curiosity to an extent. "That's kind of it, really. I can only control maybe two or three tendrils at once, but I can only precisely control one at any reasonable range. It's not pretty when they do what they want." he laughed, but he knew from experience that watching his quirk literally have a mind of its own was terrifying. Doubly so when the individual whips of energy tore large gashes in steel with ease.

"And your strength enhancer?"

"If I use it at full power, I'd probably blow my arms or legs off. I could safely use enough power to level one of these buildings, not that I've tried anything similar at U.A. or anything." he said, looking away and attempting to look innocent.

He failed, and Hawks stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "A hero as powerful as you is just now becoming a pro? If what you say is true, you could easily be in the top 25 heroes on power alone."

Izuku shook his head. "Raw power isn't everything, though. You said as much during the hero ceremony about Endeavor. If combat power was all that mattered in a hero, the top 10 rankings wouldn't include people like Wash or Kamui Woods. Their quirks are extremely useful for rescues or captures, but not so much for direct combat."

Hawks hummed in agreement with a smile on his face. "Glad to see we agree on that. Endeavor's a good choice for number one in my opinion, though. He's got a rough exterior, but I think he could be the new Symbol of Peace if he needed to be."

The greenette stopped walking as he processed what was just said. "Come again?"

Hawks stopped as well, turning to see he partner once more. "I mean that he's got the potential. Obviously he's not as popular as All Might was but honestly, who is?" he finished with a chuckle. "In my opinion, he wouldn't be the same kind of Symbol of Peace. All Might was something special. Easy to like, extremely powerful and confident, and inspiring. Endeavor is also extremely strong, but he's not the same kind of positive inspiration that All Might was."

Continuing, Hawks fixed Izuku with a calculating stare. "In my eyes, Endeavor embodies peace in a more 'Be afraid of becoming my enemy' way than All Might's 'I'll protect you no matter what' vibe. Does that make any sense? I hope it does." the man said with an awkward chuckle. "Sorry for the rambling, it's just been on my mind recently and any of the other top ten heroes at the ceremony would beat my ass if I mentioned anyone being on the same level as All Might."

Izuku felt the same since the man in question was his mentor, but he could understand where Hawks was coming from. Endeavor was certainly no All Might, but he was both powerful and frightening enough to scare off most would-be villains. After all, being burnt to a crisp by Hellfire doesn't sound like a pleasant way to die.

"I was always a big All Might fan, but I get what you mean. I've met Endeavor personally when I was younger, and I'll admit the guy is _not_ the type you want to piss off." The two shared a laugh. Hawks mentioned that he had looked up to Endeavor as a kid because of his unflinching resolve and drive to succeed, and Izuku compared it to All Might's Indomitable will to save. Although their attitudes differed entirely, he couldn't deny that they were similar in that regard.

The conversation continued from there, with the two expressing mutual interest in specific heroes and how they represented hero society as a whole. One of these was Mirko, who represented a more savage part of the professional hero business. The Rabbit Hero hated teaming up with others out of simple pride and a desire to fight with her own power, and had vowed to 'beat the asses' of any villain in her way.

"She's honestly a little more than I think I could handle!" Hawks jested with a laugh that was shared by Izuku. "I'll admit that Mirko is a very attractive woman, but damn if she doesn't scare me sometimes. I bet anyone who tried to woo her would have to beat her in a fight, which narrows it down to like, maybe ten people in the whole world?"

Izuku tried to imagine the combative Rabbit Hero in a stable relationship with anyone. Even Bakugo would be given a run for his money if he tried, which was something he never thought he would admit. They were both abrasive and aggressive, but Mirko took it so far into the extreme that he wondered how she reigned in the bloodlust during her life outside of being a hero.

From what little Izuku knew, Mirko was just the type to enjoy a good fight wherever and whenever she could find one. Gods help whoever got on Rumi Usagiyama's bad side for real, though.

"Y-yeah...I'm not exactly interested myself. My type is a little less...intense."

"Ha! Can't blame you there. That's like trying to date Mt. Lady! She has a way with cameras but sometimes she takes it a bit too far. The butt puns really make it hard for me to take her seriously."

Izuku sweatdropped. "Actually...One of my friends has been hanging out with her lately." That earned Hawks' attention, and for once the man could be seen with widened eyes. Izuku laughed awkwardly while waving off his concern. "It's nothing super serious as far as I know, but he and Takeyama-san have been seeing each other on and off for about a month now. Although his opinion is a bit odd, Kacchan says that she's fairly normal when she's out of her costume."

"Kacchan?"

"Oh! That's just a nickname I've had for him since we were practically infants." Izuku said with an awkward chuckle. "He and I have been best friends since I can remember, but during the time that he had a quirk and I didn't, he would jokingly call me 'Deku' as a way of saying I was useless. That's kinda how I got my hero name in the first place."

Hawks raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound like a kind-hearted nickname, bud."

Izuku sighed. "It wasn't, but it's not important anymore. We've moved past that part of our lives."

Coughing to rid the air of the awkwardness, Hawks pointed forward. "Anyway, look over there!" Izuku followed the winged man's finger to see the Flame Hero in all his blazing glory, though the mans' expression was as serious as ever.

"What is Endeavor doing here? He doesn't usually patrol this area." Izuku noted, to which Hawks laughed to himself.

"Haha, I actually invited him here! Ya see, there's something I wanted to talk to both of you about so I wanted to sit down over a quick meal and chat."

Izuku was stunned. "I could see why you'd want to have a private chat with the number one hero, but why me? What do I have to do with this?"

Hawks' expression turned remarkably serious. "I'll tell you when we're inside. Just trust me." His feathers vibrated slightly, showing that they were picking up on even the slightest noise nearby. Izuku sighed, but decided that he had worse things to worry about than some crazy request from the number two hero.

As they approached, Izuku could see Endeavor glaring at his cell phone for some reason. "Yo, Endeavor! Long time no see!" shouted Hawks, garnering the attention of not just the nearby civilians but the pro hero himself.

"It's about time you showed up. I was about to go in by myself and put it on your tab." the Flame Hero said, blue eyes ablaze with ferocity.

Hawks merely laughed. "Ah, you know I wouldn't do that to ya! Besides, I brought someone you might be interested in!" he finished, pointing a thumb toward Izuku who didn't know how to feel about being put on the spot.

Suddenly, his eyes locked with Enji Todoroki's fierce ones for several moments before Endeavor's gaze relaxed ever so slightly. "Fine, but there had better be a good reason for all of this." the man said, turning toward the nearby restaurant and walking through the doors. His costume was slightly adjusted, and now sported metallic shoulderpads, so his large stature was even more intimidating than before.

Izuku and Hawks shared a quick look, and the winged man shrugged before they both followed the eldest Todoroki into the restaurant. After being led to a more private area near the top floor, they sat down and were handed menus. It only took about ten minutes before their food was served, and they ate in relative silence.

Izuku was sweating bullets. The awkwardness of the silent lunch was multiplied by Endeavor's constant glares in his direction. In this timeline, it was only several months ago that Izuku Midoriya stood up to Endeavor at the Sports Festival, essentially telling him to go screw himself and his dream of having Shoto Todoroki defeat All Might.

That plan obviously changed with the early retirement of the Symbol of Peace, but if Endeavor recognized him or his name, things could get ugly very quickly.

The silence was broken as Hawks clapped his hands. "Alright! Now that that's over, we can chat."

Endeavor's serious glare was fixed on the winged man, but he either was completely unaffected or had an amazing poker face. "Get on with it, then. Why did you call me out here? And who the hell is this?" he asked, flaming beard flickering occasionally.

Izuku decided now was the time to speak up. "M-my name is Deku, and I'm a pro hero too. Fairly new, but I'm a teacher at U.A. as well."

"From what I've seen, he's pretty good at both jobs! Surely you saw him take down that Gentle Criminal guy on the news?" Hawks said, leaning backward in his chair.

"He was just a small time thug wanting attention. Although your abilities intrigue me, capturing him was little more than taking out the trash." the Flame Hero said before his blue eyes locked with Izuku's green ones. "What I'm more interested in is your real name. Call me senile, but I swear I've seen you before and it pisses me off for some reason."

Izuku was about to reply, but Hawks interjected. "Now now, you know better than to ask someone about their real name while they're in costume. Some people like to keep that to themselves. However..." he trailed off with a mischievous smirk.

"His name is Izuku Midoriya." the Fierce Wings user revealed, much to Izuku's shock. He shrugged and chuckled in response. "What? I never said I couldn't tell him."

Izuku sighed, but as he looked toward Endeavor, the Flame Hero's glare alone could melt steel. He gulped.

"Midoriya, you say?..." the large man said, clenching his fists. "If I remember correctly, that's the name of the little brat in Shoto's class. The one whose quirk is so similar to All Might's."

Endeavor continued. "Now that he mentions it, you _do_ look somewhat similar. You wouldn't happen to be that kid's older brother, would you? And don't bother lying or I'll roast you where you sit."

The greenette shook his head and took a deep breath. "As hard as it is to believe, I'm the one you're thinking about. I don't have any siblings. I'm still not sorry about what I said during the Sports Festival, you know. Todoroki-kun deserves to be his own hero, and he's finally taking steps in the right direction." Izuku finished with a slight glare. Hawks began to sweat slightly, knowing that the Flame Hero was not the type to take things lying down.

However, he was surprised when the man merely grunted. "Shoto still isn't used to using his fire, and until he does he'll always be weaker than he could be. Things are a bit different now, but if he wants to be a hero he'll need to prove his resolve to me before I'll truly accept him."

Izuku's glare sharpened. "Shoto Todoroki is my student, and I will not allow him to be burdened by the sins of his father. If you don't have the best intentions for him, then I feel like we won't get along very well."

Endeavor's expression darkened and the flames of his costume flickered dangerously. "I would pick my next words _very_ carefully if I were you, boy. You're mistaken if you think I am not aware of what I've done to him, and you're even more wrong if you think I'm not ashamed of it. Because of me, my entire family is a wreck. _Do not_ interfere in our family relations if you know what's good for you."

Izuku held the imposing man's gaze before he relaxed. "I can accept that. I already know what the situation is, and as much as I'd like to, it's not my place to fix your family's problems. From one man to another, I would hope you want the best for them. _All_ of your family members."

Hawks was silent during the exchange, before he decided to speak up. "So, uhh...Deku? If you participated in the Sports Festival this year, how are you a pro hero now? U.A. doesn't allow people to graduate early, as far as I know."

Izuku shook his head. "They don't. Technically I was lying when I said I've been a pro hero for less than a year. I was part of a hero team until recently, but the situation is much more complicated than that."

"You were teamed up with Ground Zero, Red Riot, and Ingenium, right?"

The question threw Izuku for a bit of a loop. "How did you-"

"Dreams, Deku. Far too vivid to be fake, especially with how detailed they got." Hawks responded before looking toward Endeavor. "Here's a quick question: Have you been having strange, insanely realistic dreams lately?"

Endeavor grunted. "Yes, but where are you going with this?"

"Think for a second. Deku here is a pro hero even though he was a first year student only half a year ago, and he's been on a hero team that technically never existed. Yet, both of us have seen them in our dreams." Hawks said, running his hand through his unruly locks.

"It means that he's not who he says he is." the winged man finished, shooting his temporary patrol partner an interested glance. "Or at least, he's hiding something big."

Izuku took another deep breath. "You're right, but I'm not allowed to disclose the details to you or anyone else."

Both Hawks' and Endeavor's eyes narrowed. "Not allowed? Boy, just what are you hiding?" the Flame Hero asked.

"Like I said, it's classified."

"I don't buy that for a second." Hawks said, popping some food into his mouth. "I mean, you're seriously going to sit here in front of the top two heroes in the country and hang a secret over our heads? What if it puts people in danger?" The question was surprisingly serious for the normally laid back hero, and it made Izuku think hard about his options.

Suddenly, he sighed. "Alright, fine. I can't tell you everything, but I'll explain the bare minimum. You'd have to ask Principal Nezu of U.A. about the specifics, and he can decide whether or not you're trustworthy enough with the full truth."

Endeavor growled, but before he could say anything Izuku continued. "Just because you're the number one hero doesn't mean you can be trusted with this information." he quickly added, much to the elder Todoroki's disdain.

"Just tell us what the hell is going on." Endeavor said, practically grinding his teeth together in frustration.

"I technically should be sixteen years old right now, but in reality I've lived for twenty four. You both remember Kamino, right?" he asked, earning two intrigued nods. "The villain with the portals, Kurogiri, attacked us as we tried to rescue our classmate, Katsuki Bakugo. Long story short, his quirk ran rampant and instead of sending us back to the battlefield, it sent us fifteen years into the past."

Endeavor scoffed. "Yeah, right. Time travel has never been possible and never will be."

Izuku rolled his eyes. "Alright then. Answer me this, Todoroki." The lack of an honorific normally would have enraged the Hellfire user, but he had been practicing his restraint in recent weeks. "In your dreams, how do people normally react to heroes? They don't like them much, do they? They're even terrified of All Might."

Hawks' eyes shot open. "What?" he asked, only to receive a sharp look from the greenette.

"And you. In your dreams, you went to U.A. right?"

"How did you-"

"Because I was there at your graduation." Izuku said, earning a surprised look from both men. "I lived in the past for eight years with my three best friends, and our presence there altered the course of history. Those dreams you're having? They're your memories of the past that we changed."

Turning toward the Flame Hero, he continued. "In your dreams, Toya Todoroki is still alive right?" Endeavor's eyes widened in shock. "With hero society being more and more dangerous, you were less focused on being the number one hero. Being the strongest didn't mean much if everyone would just be afraid of you, so you weren't quite as hard on them. Your family never struggled to the extent it did in this timeline."

Enji Todoroki looked down. "If that's all true, then why-"

"Endeavor, Deku." Hawks interjected with a serious tone, pointing toward the window where a large, flying figure was approaching quickly . Izuku had to squint a bit to see the details, but he could easily make out black skin with rippling muscles. A dark hood shrouded the thing's face, if it had one.

In mere moments the beast shoved a fist through the window, sending glass shards everywhere.

"_Which one of yo-you is s-st-strongest?"_ it stuttered with a raspy voice, as if speaking was extraordinarily difficult.

"Looks like the rumors were true about these 'Nomu'! Hawks, evacuate the building! Brat, what can you do!?" Endeavor yelled, getting into position to fight.

Izuku didn't miss a beat. "I'll help Hawks evacuate! You handle this thing until we're clear!" he shouted back, before turning to get the civilians into the fire escape stairwell.

"**Brilliant Scorching Fist: Jet Burn!"**

Endeavor blasted the nomu with a precise gout of flames, breaking its hold on the building and sending it backward. He leapt out the window, ejecting flames from his feet to keep him afloat.

"Endeavor, can you fly!?" Hawks yelled back.

"I can only keep myself from falling! Keep your guard up, this guy is still moving!"

The nomu's skin sizzled as dark skin rapidly stretched to cover the muscles and fibers that were exposed from the flaming attack. _"Did you th-think you could kill m-m-me with thi-this, this k-kind of f-fire?"_ it taunted, shrugging off the damage of the number one hero within moments.

"If it talks, we can get information out of it! We need to capture it!" Endeavor yelled, before putting his hand forward with fingers curled.

"**Brilliant Scorching Fist: Hell Spider!"**

Thin strings of pure fire erupted from his fingertips, impaling the creature but causing no significant damage. He didn't have time to react to the massive, enlarged hand that gripped him from afar. The nomu's muscles bulged and extended, allowing its arm to reach many meters of length. Endeavor's body was forced back through the window of the building and out the opposite end.

"_Are you strong!?"_ it roared as it swung its arm. The sounds of screaming, shattering glass, and breaking concrete filled the air as Enji Todoroki's body was dragged through the upper floors of the building. A quick burst of flame annihilated the hand that gripped him, and Endeavor was freed as the arm retracted to its usual size to regenerate.

"Deku! This whole part of the building is going down, and I need you to do something about it! I can handle the civilians!" Hawks yelled, manipulating his feathers to snag people by their shirts or jackets and fly them safely to the ground.

"Right! Just give me the signal!" Izuku yelled as he leapt out of the window, much to the winged man's shock. The greenette grit his teeth as he pushed as much power into Blackwhip as he could, wrapping several large tendrils around a nearby skyscraper and using his freefall momentum to swing around it. Only a few revolutions later, a feather made its way next to his face and followed his movements.

'That must be the signal!' he thought as he kicked his feet forward to accelerate his swinging. As he rounded the skyscraper for the last time, he was greeted with the sight of the restaurant building with its upper half beginning to crumble and fall. Gritting his teeth, Izuku forced as much power as he could into his body.

"**One For All, Full Cowling: 10,000%!"**

WIth his target in sight, Izuku allowed his Blackwhip to release and he soared through the air toward the building. Rearing a leg back while spinning, he roared out his attack for all to hear.

"**10,000% St. Louis Smash!"**

He brought his leg forward with a fierce kick, sending a shockwave that decimated the entire upper half of the building. It was as if a cyclone was created, since the wind from the blow whipped violently. If it weren't for the height it was created at, everyone on the streets below would be in danger.

Not even rubble remained, and the bystanders paused for a moment at the scene. Even Hawks, who had been saving civilians and was floating nearby, stared wide-eyed at the sheer destructive force of the attack.

Attention was brought away from him as two feathers broke his fall, allowing Izuku to float in the air by standing on them. Meanwhile, Endeavor had used his flames to attack the nomu with a massive blast that made Izuku sweat even at this distance. The creature's body bulged and it burst, flinging smaller, white nomus toward the streets.

"Hawks, get me down there!" he yelled, and the feathers reacted immediately by letting him fall. He spun so his feet were pointed upward, and the feathers gripped his costume by the arms and propelled him toward the ground. Setting his sights on one specific nomu that was attacking some civilians, Izuku cocked a fist backward before allowing his Full Cowling to lower to a measly 20%: enough to take the creature out but not injure any bystanders.

His collision with the nomu was calculated and precise, and the extra momentum allowed him to punch straight through the beast and take it down in a single hit. Looking to side, Izuku noticed Hawks with two swords made from feathers cutting straight through two other white nomus.

"How are we on that end!?" he asked loudly so he could be heard over the screaming civilians.

"Everyone's on the ground, but they need to get somewhere safe!" Hawks responded, flying toward another white nomu that was gripping a car in its hands before slicing it down the center. "Hey! You people need to stay behind us or we can't guarantee your safety!" he shouted to the pedestrians who were running away in a panic.

After several minutes of constant fighting, all of the white nomus had been taken out. Unlike the large black one in the air currently fighting against the number one hero, these ones were mindless and incapable of anything but following the most basic of orders. Looking up to the battle, Izuku saw the black nomu's head falling away from its torso.

He thought the battle was over, but as Endeavor's attention briefly turned toward the head rather than the body of the nomu, Izuku noticed it rear back a hand. In a panic, the greenette pushed every ounce of One For All into his body and leapt into the air. Time slowed for him as his perception became enhanced.

Izuku saw everything. Endeavor's alarmed state, the nomu's hand being thrust forward and extending like a blade, and the creature's head smirking beneath the hood with glowing eyes.

With a roar, the quirk successor reached the beast's torso just as the blade-like hand reached Enji Todoroki. With a savage kick, he throw the arm off course and sent its body careening toward the ground where it created a large crater upon impact. Sparing a quick glance toward the Flame Hero, he noted that a bloody gash now lay above his left eye.

However, the man seemed more exhausted than in pain. He could only wonder what would have happened if the hit hadn't been redirected at the last moment.

"Endeavor, are you alright!?" he cried out, to which the eldest Todoroki grunted while clutching his face in his hand.

"It's just a scratch, but I'm heating up from my quirk! I need a few minutes to cool off! Take him off my hands for a bit!"

"Got it!" Izuku replied, and without skipping a beat he used Blackwhip to swing from a building toward where he kicked the Nomu. Spotting a crater down below, he noticed the beast struggling to move for a few moments and released his Blackwhip swing, allowing himself to freefall toward it.

The wind whipped at his face in a familiar way, and the One For All successor charged up 100% of his Full Cowling before unleashing it in a massive punch as he landed. The blast shredded the right arm of the Nomu, who did little more than hiss at the pain.

Its body regenerated rapidly, and Izuku landed blow after blow on various parts of its body. However, any damage was almost instantly repaired by its overpowered regeneration quirk.

Deciding to switch up his strategy, Izuku held his hand in a chopping motion rather than a fist. Perhaps switching to a slicing motion would prove more efficient in disabling the beast. Izuku knew that he lacked the means to truly defeat the creature, and could only settle for holding it off until Endeavor was recovered.

"**One For All, Full Cowling: Sacramento Smash!"**

He roared, quickly slicing the Nomu with his hands. Limbs were torn off and regrown in moments, only to be cut once more. However, the Nomu could do little than groan in exertion and struggle to push its regeneration to its limit.

One well-placed slice tore the creature's head from its shoulders along with its hood, revealing a fully exposed brain lined with razor sharp teeth. It screeched, more beast than sentient being.

"_Y-Y-You're-You're strong!"_ it hissed, using a powerful leg to kick Izuku in the stomach and send him flying. He skidded across the street, costume tearing up from the concrete. Slowing himself to a stop, Izuku noticed a massive fireball above him.

From down on the streets, Izuku could hear the Flame Hero shout. "DEKU, HAWKS! GET HIM UP HERE!"

Izuku only had a moment to react to react to the Nomu leaping toward him, and he locked hands with it in an attempt to overpower the other. Its massive jaws snapped at his face, and he had to restrain himself from gagging at the awful stench of its breath.

A large group of feathers could be felt lifting him and the Nomu into the air, and Izuku focused on holding the beast at bay during their flight. It flailed helplessly, unable to break free from the One For All user's grip. After they had reached nearly half a kilometer in height, he broke his eyes away from the Nomu to see the Flame Hero approaching quickly, assisted by Hawks' feathers.

"I'VE GOT HIM! LET GO!" Todoroki shouted. Izuku allowed the screeching monstrosity to free itself and he began to fall, where a few of Hawks' feathers assisted him in getting as far away as possible. From below, it appeared that a miniature sun was soaring toward the black beast.

Suddenly, Endeavor collided and wrapped his arms around its torso with a vice grip. It attempted to pry the man off of its body as his heat reached oppressive levels, a bright orange with white at the very center.

"I've always hated this school credo for as long as I can remember, but I'll show you what it really means!" the Flame Hero announced to the world his ultimate move.

"**PLUS ULTRA! PROMINENCE BURN!"**

Endeavor erupted into a blaze of glory, and the brightness of the flames made the sun seem dim in comparison. Izuku had to shield his eyes lest he go blind. Several seconds later, the brightness lessened and he could see his surroundings once more as he continued falling.

Endeavor was still clutching the Nomu tightly, but the majority of its body was completely gone. Its regeneration failed, and the head of the monster was nowhere to be seen. Hawks used several feathers to slow the man's fall until he landed on the ground, where the remains of the Nomu had landed with a loud crash.

As he stood on shaky legs, the Flame Hero raised his left hand in the air in victory. Screams of relief and excitement echoed throughout the area. Suddenly, the number one hero stumbled but was caught by Hawks.

"Easy there. I can't believe you used the same pose as All Might!"

The number one hero scoffed. "It's not...the same. I used my left arm, he used...his right." he said, weakly. "I give it a zero out of ten. What a shitty start."

The winged hero chuckled. "Whatever you say. But even so, I know that this will _definitely _be huge!"

Izuku walked up to the two men. "You two okay?" he asked, panting slightly from the stress of the moment.

Endeavor shook his head. "I can barely move. Call an ambulance when-"

"Hold up juuuuuuuust a minute." came a new voice, one that Izuku vaguely recognized. "A lot of things went beyond my expectations, but let's do this right."

The man with sagging skin approached, hands in his pockets. "It's nice to meet you, I guess. _Endeavor_." Dabi said with a sinister smirk.

"_Dabi._" Izuku growled. This was one of the men who orchestrated the kidnapping of Bakugo all those years(months) ago. Though the anger had lessened over time, he had never truly forgiven the man for the danger he wrought upon his classmates.

The villain raised a thin eyebrow. "Aside from recent news, I don't think I've ever heard of you before. You may want to leave while you still can." he ignited a bright blue flame in his hand. "Things are about to get a bit _hot_ around here."

Suddenly, a torrent of azure flames blazed around Dabi, circling outward until they enclosed himself inside with the heroes. The heat was immeasurably higher than even Endeavor's flames, causing nearby steel to slowly melt.

Hawks looked down to the Flame Hero, who was still struggling to stay conscious. That last attack took almost everything he had to pull off, and it was only by sheer willpower that he continued to stand. "You need to rest! We can take care of him! I may only have these measly feathers left, but at least I can stall for time!"

Dabi spread his arms wide with a smirk. "Gimme a break, would ya? I just came to retrieve that Nomu. After all," his taunting grin turned vicious, "there's no way I could beat the top two heroes when they're both on death's doorstep!" He wreathed himself in flames before charging at them, but he was forced to dodge a black tendril before he could get close.

"Don't forget about me, bastard!" 

"And what's some nobody gonna do!? Save yourself the trouble and kill yourself!"

Izuku charged 10,000% into his metal fist, and with a roar he punched upward.

"**Nebraska Smash!"**

The wind howled and a column of air pressure forced the blue flames upward into the sky, creating a pillar of fire that would be beautiful if it weren't so deadly. Dabi had to melt his feet into the pavement to stay grounded, but his smirk refused to fade.

"Ohoh!? I haven't seen a move like that since All Might! If that's the case, you look a lot different than you did a few months ago, kid!" the villain cackled at his revelation. "That explains _everything_! Shigaraki wouldn't shut up about you, ya know? He kept seeing you in his dreams, being some kind of big-shot hero with the same strength as the Symbol of Peace! I thought he was losing it until I started seeing it too!"

Izuku flinched, but before he could retaliate the scarred man mumbled something to himself and black ooze flooded from his mouth and eyes. "I'm sure we'll have another chance to talk, but don't go dying out there will ya? Right, ENJI TODOROKI!?" he screamed maniacally.

"How about you talk now!?" shouted another new voice before a massive impact struck the ground where Dabi was standing. As the dust cleared, the Rabbit Hero stood amongst the small remains of the man's blue flames.

However, Dabi was nowhere to be seen.

"Ugh, that stinks!" Izuku turned toward Mirko, who sniffed her foot. Some of the black ooze remained on her leg from her strike. "Isn't this the same shit that happened at Kamino!?"

"Mirko!" the greenette exclaimed.

The Rabbit Hero fixed him with a confused glare. "...Who the hell are you?"

He shook his head. "Not important! We need to get Endeavor to a hospital, he's overheated and bleeding pretty badly!" Lifting the larger man onto his back, Izuku pumped One For All throughout his body once more and began sprinting toward the nearest group of paramedics.

The woman looked around for a moment as she followed him. "Where did Hawks go?" she asked, making Izuku spare a quick glance backward. The winged hero was gone.

"Probably off to clean up any stragglers or save some civilians. He'll show back up eventually, you know how he is."

Mirko hurried next to him, taking one half of Endeavor's unconscious body over her own back. "You still didn't say who you are, and the fact that you're dodging the question pisses me off."

Izuku rolled his eyes before glaring at her. "Do you really think this is the time!? My name is Deku and I'm here to keep this giant bastard alive! We can't afford to lose the number one hero in his first battle!"

She was momentarily stunned. This guy had the balls to yell in her face like she was some kind of kid, all while carrying the broken form of the number one hero on his back?

Either he was crazy, or had a death wish.

Regardless, she smirked at him. "Heh. By the way, that was some punch you gave back there. I bet you'd be a lot of fun to fight."

"I'll take you up on that offer when we don't have other things to worry about, deal?"

Mirko gave a hearty laugh. "I like you, Deku! Straight to the point, but I'm not sure if you could go toe to toe with me in a one on one!"

Izuku grumbled. "If only I hadn't had my quirk partially erased..." he mumbled to himself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."


	12. Chapter 12

**Heyo! It's me again.**

**This is a tiny bit of a shorter chapter, but it's a bit more detailed. I personally LOVED how it turned out, so let me know what you guys think!**

**Updates may be a bit on the slow side as I run out of canon material to work with and have to make every bit of plot on my own. I'll do my absolute best to stick to my schedule of roughly one update per week, but it might stretch a bit to accommodate this change.**

**I hope you guys enjoy this one too, and don't be afraid to write a quick review!**

Tomura Shigaraki gagged as he expelled the last of the dark ooze from his mouth. The stench was horrendous, but its practical use of teleportation far outweighed the discomfort. Taking a few deep breaths, his gaze rose to the scene around him.

Tanks filled with large, humanoid creatures lined the walls with pipes connected them all to a singular vat of liquid in the back of the room. There was a path forward that was shrouded in darkness, but he could somewhat make out the array of bright screens in the distance. A wide variety of numerical and statistical data were shown on one, while another was covered in several unique video camera windows that would cycle regularly.

In front of them was a tall chair, hiding the short man sitting on its leathery surface. With a final cough, he spoke. "You called, _Doctor_?"

The chair did not move. "Ah yes, wonderful for you to show up so eagerly." The voice had a bit of an airy, nasal tone. "You've been spending a substantial amount of time in that abandoned church. Have you perhaps become religious, or is there another reason for your inaction?"

Scowling at the man's tone, Tomura responded without moving. "Surely you've seen them too. The visions."

"You would be correct! Such an intriguing thing, for us all to see a world that doesn't exist as we know it. In fact, seeing a world where heroes aren't loved is quite exciting, no? A vision of the future, perhaps?"

The Decay user shook his head, pale blue hair swishing past his shoulders. "No. The past."

If the Doctor had been facing him, Shigaraki would have seen a bushy eyebrow rise. "And what makes you so certain?" he asked in interest.

Tomura clenched his fists at his sides and grit his teeth in frustration. The memories assaulted him night after night, taunting him with their pleasantries. At first, he had simply been intrigued by the idea of a world where he had a family. A world without the pain of being alone.

A world without his Master, All For One.

However, his opinions became muddled as he drew parallels with what was currently happening in the real world. Deku, the hero he admired and loved in the dreams, was _here_. He was _real_ despite everything else being a lie. The society that didn't accept heroes as celebrities, his descent into complete madness...

...his _grandmother_.

After many years, he recalled the name he had thrown away so easily. It was like an old yearbook covered in dust, only to be brushed off and reread decades later.

_Tenko Shimura._

He held no love for the name, as it had meant little to him throughout his life. It was only a reminder of what he had, and what he had been denied by fate. One set of memories in particular made him pause and carefully consider his response to the Doctor's still unanswered question. Shigaraki did not trust the man in the slightest - he was not so naive to think the man ever had his best intentions in mind - but he saw value in his continued cooperation.

_Tenko was playing outside with his beloved dog, Mon-chan. His father had locked him outside as punishment for playing 'heroes and villains' with the other kids at the daycare. The one rule their family had was that any talk of heroes was completely forbidden._

_As a child, he didn't understand why his father was so cruel. Becoming a hero was everything he had ever dreamed of, to be just like All Might and save people. His mother and sister both felt sympathy for him, but Kotarou Shimura was merciless._

_Hana Shimura, Tenko's sister, had snuck into their father's office and stole a photograph of their grandmother, who they were told was a hero. The girl supported his dream of becoming a hero, even against the wishes of their father. He had been beyond touched at her support and affection, and had opted to play with the family dog, Mon-chan, while he was stuck out in the yard._

_He had thrown the rubber ball, watching with a smile as Mon-chan rushed excitedly to retrieve it. However, his hand flinched as he heard the back door slam open. _

"_You went into my office, didn't you!? Tenko!" shouted the Shimura patriarch. His rage was evident from his voice alone, and the boy didn't even have to turn to know the look of absolute fury that adorned his father's face. Knowing the consequences of disobedience, Tenko snapped his head toward the man with a terrified expression._

"_You saw it, didn't you...!?" The look in Kotarou's eyes was manic, filled with a desire for violence. At the boy's silence, he closed the distance in only a few steps before raising his right hand..._

_...and slapping his son with as much force as he could muster, sending him to the ground in pain._

"_That person wasn't your grandmother. That was a demon that threw away her own children! Listen up. Being a hero is nothing but someone who hurts their own family for the sake of others!" he raised his hand again in his rage, and continued his beating. The family could only stand in terror as they watched their youngest child be smacked full force over and over as some twisted form of subjugation._

_Minutes later, the man believed that his son had been properly reminded of the rules of the household, and ceased his assault in favor or returning inside. His family followed, but Tenko opted to remain outside with his beloved corgi._

_He winced as the pain was exacerbated by the tears flowing down his cheeks. 'Why is father so cruel to me!? Does he hate me? Why else would he do something so terrible! Why is it so wrong to want to protect people!?' he thought frightfully._

_Tenko sat down near the outer wall, and Mon-chan leapt up to his lap, panting in reassurance. However, even the power of his companion's unconditional love was not enough for the youth's mood to improve._

_His face itched to the point that he could resist it no longer, and Tenko added that to his list of problems at the moment. His entire body was wracked with sobs, his face stung from his father's abuse, and his hand still stung in a strange way he couldn't focus enough to identify._

"_I-*hic*- I hate this..." he mumbled in between his sobs. "I hate this, Mon-chan..."_

"_I...can't take this anymore. I just..." he tightened his grip around his animal companion for extra comfort. "I hate _everyone_."_

_Suddenly, a grotesque squelching noise tore Tenko's attention away from the dirt he sat upon. He could no longer feel Mon-chan's quick panting breaths against his body, and it was replaced by a warm and thick liquid whose stench invaded his nostrils. Taking a glance down at his lap, Tenko's eyes widened like saucers as he shivered in terror._

"_Mon-chan...?"_

_Mon-chan's body lay in a bloody heap, with large chunks of its flesh and body completely missing. Its blood quickly formed a puddle that continued expanding by the second._

_Tenko's scream caught in his throat, but before he could truly comprehend his situation he heard his name being called._

"_Tenko...I'm sorry for, umm...you know...I was wrong. Even though I was the one who secretly showed you...I'm sorry." came the voice of Hana, who had come outside in her nightwear to apologize. The girl wasn't looking in his direction, too ashamed to meet his gaze._

_The boy gasped for air, trying with all of his might to release the scream that lodged its way in his throat. Sensing his panic, Hana's eyes finally met his own terrified ones. "Huh? What's wrong!?" she cried, suddenly taking in the situation until her own eyes bugged out of her head._

"_YAAAAAAAAAGH!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, turning to sprint toward the house. Tenko's voice still refused to obey his commands, instead coming out as painful gasps and wheezes._

'_My voice still won't come out!' he thought to himself, eyes still raining tears. 'My throat, it itches so bad! Hana-chan, didn't you come to apologize!? Then please! Protect me this time!'_

_He reached out to clutch at his sister's shirt, hoping for her help in understanding what in the world was happening. However, as soon as his hand gripped her side, she erupted into a shower of blood and gore. Tenko's scream still wouldn't reach the surface, even as he grabbed frantically at what little remained of Hana Shimura in hopes of saving what was left._

_In moments, her body was reduced to nothing more than a bloody smear on the grass._

'_Who is doing all of this!? Why!?' Tenko thought some nefarious villain was behind the annihilation of his beloved sister and dog. Who else would do something so awful?_

_With renewed vigor, the boy screamed at the top of his lungs with as much anguish as he could muster. Immediately afterward, the contents of his stomach spilled out of his mouth. The stinging sensation burned his throat and his nostrils, but he continued regurgitating whatever was inside of his body. _

_As his palm landed upon the ground to steady himself, he felt the sting in his hand once more. The ground trembled beneath his hands, and it only took moments for the back door to slide open once again._

_His mother, Nao Shimura, stood horrified at the scene, but upon seeing her son in agony, she immediately rushed to him with no regard for the blood or gore around him. She quickly reached her arms toward him, with the intent to hug her beloved child._

_Tenko's expression was frantic, and he reached out a hand for the only source of comfort he could see in this dark and horrific nightmare. However, the ground beneath his hand detonated into a shower of shrapnel that shredded his mother's skin as she approached. Still, he continued to reach._

_Upon contact, Tenko felt both the overwhelming comfort only a mother could give..._

_...and the harrowing feeling of it being torn away from him in an instant._

_The woman's body disintegrated right in front of his eyes, leaving nothing more than two disembodied hands and a massive streak of blood on the ground. His grandmother and grandfather stared with abject horror before screaming and running back into the house._

_Tenko could do nothing more than kneel on the ground and wail in misery and pain amongst the destroyed remnants of his mother, sister, and pet. A minute later, the back door opened and Tenko saw the pure fear plastered across his father's features._

"_F-fa-father..." he stuttered in between sobs that shook his entire being. "I'm so sorry!" the boy cried, reaching out toward his parent in a panic while scratching relentlessly at his throat._

_However, this was different than the previous two times he had done so. Instead of a desire for comfort, this time Tenko had reached out toward his father with the full intent to _kill_. He wanted nothing more than to destroy everything about his horrible father who tortured and attacked both him and his dreams._

_With speed he wasn't aware of, Tenko leapt toward Kotarou with an outstretched hand covered in blood. The man quickly glanced to the side and saw a hedge trimmer attached to a metal pole, and grabbed it before taking a swing at his son. The adult's eyes were wide in fear, and as it struck his son's head with a metallic *tang*, and he thought he was safe for the moment._

"_Tenko, stop it!" he cried out, but the boy wasn't listening. With deadened eyes, Tenko leapt once more and reached a hand forward toward his father's face. In mere moments he would have revenge for the torture he had been subjected to his entire life. The one person who had hurt him more than anyone ever could, was about to be killed by his own hand._

_The thought excited him._

_Tenko's palm had barely reached the man's face, and his fingers were only a twitch away from clamping down to seal his fate._

"_Die! DIE!" he screamed before he felt two things._

_One was the feeling of his wrist being grabbed in a vice grip, and the other was the lack of a face in his hand._

_Suddenly, Tenko felt a rush of wind and the sound of a body sliding across dirt along with painful grunts._

"_What the hell are you two doing!?"_

_He looked toward his wrist to see a yellow glove clutching him tightly. Following the hand to its owner's face, Tenko's tear-filled eyes widened once more as he realized that this woman was the one he had seen in the photograph only hours earlier._

_This was his grandmother: Nana Shimura. A hero._

_She was tall, even for a grown-up. Her expression was a combination of pure rage, confusion, and terror all rolled up in one. His voice caught in his throat, and the young 4 year old child could do nothing but stare. The woman gripped his other wrist, preventing him from moving. After a few seconds of struggling, Tenko's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he went limp._

_Nana looked toward the boy's father, who lay on the ground halfway across the yard while shivering in fear. "Kotarou, you'd better explain to me what the fuck is going on here! And if I don't like your answer..." she trailed off with a menacing look that promised _universes_ worth of pain._

"_K-Kaa-san!" he stuttered, eyes widened before his expression turned into a hateful glare. "Why are you here!? You have no right to come back after all of this!" he shouted, causing the woman to clench her fist tighter._

"Boy!_ I'm finally in the area to keep this family safe from villains, and when I receive a tip that there may be some kind of issue in the area!? Ohhh you had better bet I'm not happy! Then I come to see this!" she waved her arm at the destroyed remains of their backyard, along with multiple pools of blood. "Kota, what the hell is _wrong_ with you!? Look at what you've done!"_

_Her son, a grown man, pointed a finger accusingly at the young boy who had passed out. "I-It was him! T-Tenko k-ki-killed them all! He did this!" he stuttered frantically._

"_Are you serious, Kotarou!? You expect me to believe that this little kid did all of _this_!? He's your son! He's _my_ grandson!" Nana shouted, releasing her hold on Tenko and gently laying him on the ground. She stomped toward her own son before clutching the front of his shirt and holding him in the air. Her superior strength gave her the power to lift him with little issue, and her additional height let her easily hold the man off the ground._

"_I-I'm serious, Kaa-san! I don't know how he did it, but he touched Nao and she just...died!"_

_Nana shook her son with anger evident on her face. "How could you accuse him of something like that!? He's just a child, Kota! I can't believe this is what you've been up to since I left!"_

_Kotarou gripped at her hands in an attempt to free himself, but he failed. "You have no right to even show up here after what you did! You left me all alone, and for what!? To chase some boogeyman around the world!? He's been dead for years, Kaa-san! You never bothered to check up on us since then!?"_

_Nana's anger faltered slightly as the tears welled up in the man's eyes. He was obviously torn up about her having to leave him for his own safety, but despite her regrets, Nana knew she had made the right decision. "I did what I had to in order to keep you and the rest of the world safe, Kota. When you defeat one of the biggest names in the underworld, you get a target on your back. The last thing I ever wanted was to put you, Nao, and the kids in danger..."_

"_That's bullshit and you know it! How many other heroes willingly give up their children to do their job!? Until I met Nao, I was completely alone!"_

"_Stop making this about you, Kota! I want to know what on earth happened here so you and little Tenko can move on after all of this!"_

_He struggled in her grip with rage evident on his face, along with tears. "I can't bear the sight of that _thing_ anymore! He killed Hana! He killed Nao! He tried to kill me too! If you hadn't shown up, I would be a smear on the ground!"_

_Nana sighed, releasing him to stand on his own. "Then I suppose I have failed you, Kotarou. As a mother, as a role model, and as a hero. I'm sorry." she said, solemnly. Although no tears came to her eyes, it was clearly visible that she was distraught. "I never wanted to leave you at the foster home, you know. I hated myself for that decision for years, but I knew that it was better than having you be killed by villains. The only thing that kept me going was knowing you were _alive_, unlike what happened to your father."_

_Kotarou was stunned. He had only been given the bare minimum information as he was dropped off at the foster home. The whole drive there, he had asked him mom where they were going and why, but she only told him that he would be staying with these people for a long time while she was away on business. She had promised he would be safe with them, but never truly told him why she had to leave._

_To hear the answer now made the man cry. His entire life he'd spent hating heroes and his own mother for nothing more than wanting him to be safe. The pain of rejection and abandonment was still there, but alongside it was something else._

_Guilt._

_Sobs wracked his body, but Nana merely turned away to look at her grandson. "Do you have any idea what actually happened here, Kota?"_

_The man shook his head, still struggling to speak through his tears. "N-no...I heard Chizuo and Mako screaming and came outside, and-*sniff*-I see Tenko covered in blood. The dog was over there, but half of it was-it was just gone! There was nothing left of Hana or Nao except for-" he shuddered, eyes widened, "-their _hands_."_

_Nana looked at the scene and had to suppress a shiver herself. "And you're certain there were no villains in the area who could have done this?"_

_He shook his head again, and the woman sighed weakly. "Then it must have something to do with Tenko's quirk. He's around that age, right?" She received a nod. After looking between her son and her grandson, Nana closed her eyes and took a deep breath._

"_Kota, I think it's in everyone's best interest if I take custody of little Tenko for now."_

"_W-what!? You can't keep him with you, he'll kill you!"_

"_I'll think of something. If this is quirk-related, I have plenty of contacts that can help find a way to keep it under control. I know a few doctors that can help with some rehabilitation too, gods know he'll need it after something like this."_

_Kotarou shook his head, not wanting his mother to be anywhere near the danger that his son presented. No matter how much he tried to dissuade her, however, Nana was set on her decision._

"_I'll be taking Tenko with me to the hospital first, to see if we can't get him strapped down and under control. It's best that we do it while he's unconscious, as awful as that sounds. The doctors can keep him under until we figure out what's going on."_

_They didn't know that, midway through their conversation, Tenko's eyes had already cracked open and he was listening intently._

Tomura shivered, the memory bringing up feelings he felt were best left in the past. However, he was brought out of his thoughts by the Doctor clearing his throat.

"If you're going to stand there and daydream, you're wasting my time. All For One may have been lenient with you, but I have no inclination to do the same. Kurogiri has been soft with raising you, and unless you show some improvement I will not hesitate to dispose of you." the mysterious man said.

The Decay user shook his head. "That won't be necessary, Doctor. To answer your earlier question, I'm sure that the visions are of the past because my...grandmother...was still alive. In reality, she was never in the picture."

A hum of interest came from the enigmatic Doctor. "Is that so? My own visions are not so different than my actual memories, so there is little benefit aside from an intriguing set of experiments. Tell me then; did this 'other you' possess any sort of knowledge you could use? All For One left behind Gigantomachia for you to inherit, but unless you can prove yourself to him, he will _never_ accept you."

Gigantomachia was a monstrosity of a man, capable of growing to gargantuan size and having the strength to match. He was fast enough to tear trees from the ground with the wind tunnel of his movement alone, and had the durability to withstand a small army's worth of attacks without a scratch. Add that to his above-expected intelligence, and he was quite literally a soldier to stand above all others.

The shadow of the Doctor's arm could be seen stroking his mustache. "Ah that's right, she was dead back when you were born. And my other question?"

Tomura's gaze softened, if ever so slightly. The next memory was one he held mixed feelings for, and digging it out in front of one of his potential allies could prove disastrous for a variety of reasons. Shaking his head to stave off the flashback, the pale man spoke. "I recall when I first used my quirk, and that I haven't really practiced with it much aside from increasing its attack power. For whatever reason, I never thought to level up the skill in a variety of ways to unlock new abilities."

The video game jargon went over the Doctor's head, but the man did not show it. "I assume you have some sort of plan?"

Clenching his fist, Tomura responded. "If Gigantomachia is the ultimate training dummy, then I will continue to fight him until I get enough EXP to do what I want."

If he could have seen it, Tomura would have noticed the Doctor's smirk raise his mustache slightly. "Hmm. Perhaps you _do_ have some potential. I will provide you directions to find Gigantomachia, but you and your merry band of misfits will be on your own against him."

Tomura nodded, expecting the man to see the motion somehow despite knowing that he was not looking. "Then send me back. I have levels to grind and party members to beef up."

Black ooze erupted from nearly every orifice on Tomura's body, quickly enveloping him in a wretched stench once more. As he felt his body lose its weight momentarily, he heard the Doctor add one last note before he vanished.

"Be warned, Gigantomachia _will not hold back. _If you cannot impress him even a little, you will _die_."

The ooze blacked out his vision, and Tomura Shigaraki was gone.

Arriving back at the abandoned church, he coughed the last remnants of ooze out of his mouth before wiping his chapped lips. 'That will never _not_ be disgusting.' he thought to himself, walking over to a nearby bench and sitting down.

"Tomura-kun! You're back!" exclaimed the ever-excited Toga Himiko. She was busying herself with sharpening some of her knives on a nearby slab of metal that was taken from..._somewhere_.

Dabi, who was laying on a makeshift couch nearby with his hands clasped behind his head, chimed in. "Did our 'benefactor' tell you anything useful?"

Tomura hummed in affirmation. "Hmm. He's going to lead us toward our final member using the radio, but we'll have to fight him to prove ourselves. We'll fight, or we'll die. Gigantomachia apparently has very high standards." he mused.

Twice appeared holding a spatula and wearing both a chef's hat and an apron that says 'Welcome to my bitchin' kitchen'. "Giganto-what!? He sounds scary! I bet he gives amazing hugs!"

Ignoring him, Tomura continued. "We're going to use him as a training partner for the foreseeable future. If we grind up enough EXP against an opponent that we probably can't beat, everybody else will be a pushover."

However, even while he explained his plan he had all five fingers down on the bench, it stood.

His quirk hadn't activated.

The bench was still intact.

Smiling softly to himself as he stared at his bare hand, Tomura recalled another memory that changed his entire perspective.

"_Alright Tenko, I'm bringing over one of my students today. He said he's very excited to meet you!" Nana said with her trademark smile. The two sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast together, something which Tenko wouldn't admit made him feel welcome._

"_A-a student?" the boy asked, timidly. His hands shook, causing the spoon to rattle lightly against the bowl his cereal was in. Despite his destructive quirk, Tenko was able to grasp the utensil fully using the gloves that covered his hands._

_Immediately following his visit to the hospital, a young man with orange hair had arrived at the woman's apartment with a set of unusual gloves. Two fingers were missing, and the gloves looked hastily made as if they were created by simply slicing off two fingers of a normal pair of gloves._

_However, they worked like a charm._

_Because it was impossible for all five of his fingers to touch anything at once, Tenko could live without the risk of disintegrating something, or some_one_, by accident. If he wanted, he could live a somewhat normal life._

_But deep down, he knew he still wanted to be a hero. Even with the rumors that heroes weren't as great as people once thought, he saw it as an admirable career. After all, All Might was a hero and he saved all kinds of people!_

_Nana nodded, swirling her oatmeal in the bowl using her spoon. "Mhmm! He's still in high school, but he's a good kid just like you. I'm sure the two of you will get along."_

_Tenko had his doubts. Up until now, kids were hesitant to play with him because he hadn't awakened his quirk. Now, only days after his stupid quirk had shown up?..._

_Anyone, kids or adults, would be terrified of him because of it._

_Several hours of meaningless television later, and Tenko had mixed feelings about his new living arrangements. Nana Shimura was a much nicer alternative to his father, since she didn't beat him or berate him constantly, but she wasn't present very often because of her duties as a hero._

_To a small extent, the boy understood some of his father's frustration with heroes. He hated the part of him that felt any sort of empathy for the man._

_Without any interesting shows to watch, Tenko spent most of his time stewing in his thoughts. What was going to happen to him? Would he ever go back to school like all the other kids? Did he _want_ to go back to school and live life like he had been?_

_If he wanted to, _could_ he move on with his life?_

_The questions piled atop each other until he felt like he was staring up at a mountain of uncertainty. Anchored to his leg was the building-sized mass of guilt from killing his family, and climbing even a small distance up that mountain seemed an impossible task._

_He was brought out of his depressing thoughts at the sound of a gentle knock on the front door. "Tenko? Are you there? It's me, your Oba-san's student! May I come in?" came the cheerful male voice._

_Tenko took a few moments to mentally prepare himself. Although he had been warned of it earlier that morning, he was still skittish around strangers._

"_Hello?" the voice asked once more._

_Tenko hopped off the couch and made his way to the front door, gently turning the handle and cracking it open. Craning his neck upwards, he was greeted with the smiling face of a teenage boy with curly green hair and freckles._

"_Hi there, Tenko! My name is Izuku Midoriya, it's nice to finally meet you!" the boy exclaimed happily, extending a hand in greeting._

_Tenko flinched at the outstretched hand, recalling what had happened that last time his hand had touched someone else's. After a few moments he remembered that he had his 'special gloves' on, and that people were safe from his quirk. Hesitantly, he allowed his smaller hand to be enclosed in the boy's much larger one._

"_H-hi..." Tenko muttered in reply, struggling to meet Izuku's gaze. He was dressed in a normal school uniform, so he looked just like all the other kids he had seen whenever his mother would take him out to a nice restaurant or to the mall._

"_Your Oba-san wanted me to hang out with you for a while today, so I hope we can be good friends from now on! Is it okay if I come in?"_

_Tenko nodded slowly before opening the door wider and allowing the taller male into his abode. Izuku had never seen Nana's apartment before, but it was relatively clean aside from a few dishes in the sink and a jacket or two slung over a kitchen chair. Overall, it looked as if the woman only came back here rarely up until now, seeing as it lacked some key details._

_Very few things adorned the walls aside from a few cheap paintings and an inspirational quote or two. The furniture was haphazardly purchased, judging by their complete lack of coordination. The main offender was the lack of any sort of family photographs, aside from a single one on the countertop that showed Nana with her son many years ago._

_Izuku smiled softly to himself. 'She doesn't look like she's aged a day since this was taken. Maybe her quirk is a lot like Kacchan's mom's quirk?' he mused. People just didn't maintain a complexion like theirs at that age, so he figured some otherworldly force was at play here._

"_Okay, since we're going to be friends from now on, is it okay if I call you Tenko-kun? You can call me Izuku-kun or whatever you want!" Izuku said, turning back toward the young boy with a wide smile._

_The boy with pale blue hair nodded hesitantly. "O-okay...Izuku-k-kun..." he stuttered, still finding it difficult to open up to this boy who he just met._

_Sensing his discomfort, Izuku tried to make small talk. "So Tenko-kun, do you have anything you really like? My favorite thing to talk about is heroes!"_

_That made Tenko's eyes widen and his head to shoot up. "Y-you like heroes!?" he asked, voice filled with hope. Perhaps this boy really could be his friend?_

_Izuku chuckled. "Of course I do, I am one!" he pointed toward himself, only making Tenko's amazement grow exponentially. "Even though a lot of people are scared of us, I want to help save everyone so they don't have to worry about getting hurt by villains or disasters!"_

"_Woah...! That's so cool, Izuku-kun!" Tenko said, excitedly. It took him a moment to realize he was opening up to someone he had just met, but he found it difficult to care. This random person both liked heroes and was being nice to him for no reason, which immediately made him better than his father._

_The boy shivered at the reminder of what his only surviving parent did to him, but shook it off quickly in favor of asking more of the boy he was with. "Are you a super cool hero just like All Might!?"_

_Izuku nodded with a quick bark of laughter. "I'm nowhere near as strong as All Might, but I do the same things as him! After all, nobody can beat All Might! He's the number one hero for a good reason!"_

_Tenko's eyes were filled with stars. The shock of meeting his grandmother, who was also a hero, was not as impactful because of the circumstances in which they met. He had met her through necessity and pure chance, and even while living with her he saw her shockingly little throughout the day. She was practically a ghost of a hero, appearing and disappearing on her own schedule that seemed to follow its own rhythm and tempo._

"_Izuku-kun, do you have a quirk?" he asked, kneeling on the cushions of the couch and leaning over the back._

"_Yep! It's a little..._destructive_...so I can't really show you inside. Maybe later your Oba-san will let us go out to the beach and I can show you!"_

_The boy's eyes widened with excitement at the idea._

"_Tenko-kun, do you have a quirk, too?"_

_The question smashed any happiness the boy could muster, and it immediately caught Izuku's attention. Tenko's gaze dropped to the floor and his smile vanished instantly. "Woah, are you okay!? I'm sorry if I upset you, I didn't mean to!" Izuku waved his hands in front of him in panic, beginning to sweat._

"_Are you...quirkless?" he finally asked, causing Tenko to shake his head. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me! I understand!"_

_It took a few seconds for the boy to hold up one of his hands. "I...can break things by touching them." he said simply, before tears welled up in his eyes and he clenched his fists tightly. "I hate my quirk! All it's done is hurt people! Kaa-san, Hana-chan, even Mon-chan! I hurt all of them really bad!" he grit his teeth to keep his sobs from turning into full-on wails._

_Izuku ran over and knelt in front of the distraught child with an empathetic expression. "I'm so sorry, Tenko-kun..." he whispered, almost too quietly to be heard. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head and he decided to try it. "Hey, you said your quirk..._breaks_ things, right?"_

_At the boy's nod, Izuku continued with a sad smile. "I bet you could be an amazing hero with that, if you wanted to!"_

_That got Tenko's attention, and his eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Y-you think so?..." he asked hesitantly, to which Izuku nodded. "But how...? How could such an awful quirk be used to help anyone if all it does it kill the people I care about!?"_

_That bit of information shocked the greenette, but he did his best to maintain his expression. "I know so! A lot of quirks can hurt people, you know! Even mine and your Oba-san's quirks can. Even All Might could hurt people really badly if he wanted to!"_

_He continued as the boy seemed to hang on his every word. "I know a pro hero whose quirk makes black holes, and those are super dangerous! You would think it would be hard to be a hero with a quirk that could hurt people so easily, but she's extremely careful with it. Because she trained so hard to master her quirk, she's able to protect and help people with it! She specializes in rescues, so even though her quirk disintegrates everything in its way, she can use it to destroy rubble or debris that could be pinning down people who are in danger!"_

_The example raised Tenko's spirits slightly, and he nodded in response. "Y-you mean sh-she's a good person, even with a quirk as scary as hers?" he asked, eyes filling with a small amount of hope._

"_Absolutely! Thirteen is one of the best heroes at rescuing people, and I believe she's an excellent role model for someone like you with a similar quirk! Just imagine if a building falls apart, there would be a lot of rubble everywhere, right? Your quirk would be amazing at saving anyone trapped underneath! Or if you wanted to fight villains, your quirk would be great for helping other heroes enter their secret hideouts quietly!"_

_Izuku gulped, feeling the weight of his next words in his soul as he placed his hands on the child's small shoulders. What he was about to say resonated with him on such a deep level that he struggled to hold back tears of his own._

"_Tenko-kun, please believe me when I tell you this. _You can become a hero_."_

_He let the words hang in the air for a few moments, seeing the boy's shocked expression with eyes widened. Tenko's eyes brimmed with tears at the heartfelt and truly _honest_ confession of this man who was practically still a stranger to him. The sheer emotion that lay within the greenette's eyes told him that Izuku truly believed what he was telling him._

_Suddenly, Tenko threw his arms around Izuku's chest and cried more than he ever had in his life. More than when he lost to his friends at the daycare, more than when his awful father had beaten him, and more than when he had lost the only family he had ever truly loved._

_But these were not tears of sadness or heartache. These were tears of pure joy, relief, and love._

_Tenko Shimura finally had someone truly on his side, and the comforting arms that wrapped themselves around his smaller frame only made him feel more secure._

_As his cries lowered to sobs, then sniffles, Tenko looked up to Izuku with the first full smile he had given since the incident._

"_T-thank y-you, Izu-nii."_


	13. Chapter 13

**Welp here we go!**

**It's been storming here practically nonstop for days, and I feel like I haven't seen the sun in a week. Although that makes me really want to write more, I also like sleeping too much to do it sometimes.**

**Enjoy the chapter and review if you feel like it!**

"Alright everyone, turn your books to page 127 and we'll get started for the day."

The class begrudgingly complied, following Kirishima's orders as they began their hero studies class. The redhead was teaching alone today, since Bakugo had been called to Nezu's office and Iida was visiting family once again. Apparently, Tensei Iida was beginning to get lonely at the house even with their parents around.

As usual, Izuku was notably absent. However, he knew it was for a good reason this time.

'I still can't believe he fought with Endeavor and Hawks against some giant Nomu.' the man thought, flexing and stretching his arms above his head to stave off the numbness of the cold morning. 'He's all over the news now, so if he wanted to keep a low profile he failed miserably.'

The greenette had been forced to take a break from teaching for the week in order to recover from the battle and actually live a little. From what Kirishima knew, he had gone home to stay with his mother for the entire week. He smiled softly to himself as he remembered how differently Izuku and Bakugo described the Midoriya matriarch, but how similar their descriptions were.

"_My mom? She's...unique. She's a wonderful mom and she cares a lot, but sometimes it's a bit too much. She's the type to stress out and cry so much that she blacks out."_

"_Auntie Inko cries even more than Deku, but she's a good person. She's too fuckin' innocent for this world. I swear she would die of dehydration if he wasn't around to save her."_

Looking back to Class 1-A, Kirishima stood up and paced as he taught. His personal style was to keep the class engaged by relating the subject matter to how practical it is. In his opinion, Izuku got far too carried away by discussion and Iida was too focused on simply reading from the book and expecting them to understand the first time around.

Bakugo barely tried. His usual way to teach the class was to read the material beforehand and summarize it into bullet points for what would be on the tests. It certainly helped the students pass, but whether they really learned or not was questionable.

The lesson today was on the bane of every new pro hero's existence: paperwork. It could make or break a hero by legality alone, and it was a nightmare to complete the required documentation after every single incident. During his first year as a pro, Hawks was notorious for being lazy with his incident reports and getting into trouble. At one point, it became so much of a problem that he was forced to hire a professional shadow to follow him and document any encounters with criminals or villains.

Ever since that day, Hawks still hasn't filed a single report by himself.

"So who can tell me why incident documentation is important in the first place?" Kirishima asked, receiving silence as a response until Yaoyorozu raised her hand and he called on her.

"Documenting every single incident not only helps the authorities know how the criminal broke the law, but it also helps keep pro heroes accountable for their actions." she said, as if reciting directly from the textbook.

The redhead smiled at her. "Thanks Yaoyorozu, that's exactly right! Incident reports are how pro heroes are judged, basically. If you resolve a lot of incidents, like Endeavor or Hawks, you'll more than likely be placed higher in the hero rankings. Resolving them without violence or large amounts of collateral damage, like Midnight, usually give you a boost as well."

He continued, not noticing the face peeking through the thin window on the classroom door. "Being flashy can also help you gain popularity, and that can sometimes help especially for your debut. In this case, Izuku made a good example. I'm sure you all saw the news?"

Hagakure pumped her invisible arms in excitement. "Oh yeah! He fought with Endeavor and Hawks against that Nomu, right? That was super cool, and he was so strong!"

"Talk about a debut, for real. Saving the number one hero's life is one hell of a way to get your name out there." Kaminari said, blowing a lock of yellow hair away from his face.

Kirishima chuckled. "I agree with you there. Even if he hates the spotlight, Izuku always seems to find himself right in the middle of it. Anyway, can anyone tell me what Izuku had to do as soon as the incident was over? Assume that he doesn't have someone to do it for him."

After receiving silence once again, he sighed. "Okay, Ashido. Why don't you tell me _exactly_ the four steps he had to complete." he said, pointing toward his unwilling victim who groaned.

"Aww, damn." she mumbled under her breath before looking back at him. "He had to file a report with the police and give his statement, then he had to...uhh..." she trailed off, face looking less and less certain of her answer by the second. "He had to..." the pink girl looked to her friends for assistance, but received nothing besides sheepish grins and waves.

"You don't know the rest, do you?"

Her head slammed into her desk with a loud _*thud* _that made her pencil roll off of the top and clatter to the floor.

"No, sensei..."

Kirishima sighed again. "At least you tried, right? She was correct that he needed to file his police report first, but who can finish the rest?"

Uraraka raised her hand and was called upon. "Deku-sensei needed to give his statement to the police first, then he had to submit an official incident report form to be approved by the chief of the police department. Third, he had to sign to claim responsibility for resolving the incident. Finally, he had to provide a written response to any questions posed by the courts regarding the incident if there were any."

The redhead smiled. "Thank you, Uraraka. That was very detailed, and absolutely correct. There is a lot that goes into making a full report, so it's not surprising that most pro heroes prefer to have someone as an authorized signer complete the paperwork for them. If he had someone to do that, Izuku could skip the submission of the report form and signature to claim responsibility."

He breezed through the rest of the lesson with little difficulty. Although it wasn't a very exciting topic to teach, Kirishima stressed its importance as much as he could.

"Alright, onto our activity for the day." he said with a bit of a smile. The class practically jumped to attention, thinking they would be fighting or something. "Something that goes hand in hand with reporting is being able to present yourself in front of the media." The energy that the class had was immediately crushed into a fine powder and blown away by the wind.

If there was wind in the classroom, one could imagine tumbleweeds blowing between the desks.

"Oh don't look so bored! Some of you may enjoy it more than others, but the media is _everywhere_. Being able to handle yourself during an interview is critical for a lot of reasons. You all are aware of our...unique circumstances," the class nodded, "so I can tell you that the media was much less friendly when we first started as pros. They tried to find every possible way to ruin a hero's reputation, so you had to be extremely careful with how you worded things."

Mineta raised his hand. "Um, Kirishima-sensei? Could you give us a bit of an example?"

He nodded. "It won't be fun, but sure. Katsuki used to _suck_ in front of the media, and they tore into him on live TV. Every time he got the slightest bit upset, the interviewers would ask pointed questions like 'Do you think heroes should be forced to take anger management classes' or 'How do you feel about your reputation as the number one hero voted most likely to become a villain'."

The class winced at the last one, since that had been the League of Villain's opinion of him. After all, it had led to his capture in the first place.

"Jeez, talk about harsh." Jirou said, head held up by her palm. "I bet he didn't like that."

Kirishima chuckled. "We actually had to drag him away before he exploded in that reporter's face. Cameras caught the whole thing. It took him almost a whole year of anger management classes to calm down enough to handle himself."

The students looked to each other. Some of them laughed softly, but others looked genuinely concerned. "Anyway, enough about that. Luckily, the media _here_ is a lot more friendly as long as nothing major is going on like at Kamino. And to help you guys practice, we have two guests here today that are experts on this sort of thing. Come on in you two."

The door slid open, revealing two buxom and very recognizable women. Mt. Lady and Midnight strolled into the classroom, and Mineta legitimately _screeched_ in terror before trying to hide himself at his desk.

"About time you called us in, Beefcake!" Mt. Lady exclaimed, crossing her arms with a smirk that the man in question didn't appreciate much. "We've been waiting outside this door like stalkers for almost half an hour!"

Midnight rolled her eyes at the blonde woman beside her. "You obviously don't know the first thing about teaching, do you? These things take time."

"Nope." she replied, before looking around for someone. "Where's Blondie?"

Kirishima shrugged with an unapologetic smile. "He got called to the Principal's office for something, but he didn't tell me what. Why, you miss your boyfriend that much?" he teased, and the woman in question scoffed.

"Puh-lease. He wishes I would date him. The guy won't even talk to me half the time."

The Rated R 18+ hero stood at the front of the class with a sigh. "Moving on..." she adjusted her glasses on her face. "As Kirishima said, being able to handle yourself in an interview is really important for your future as pro heroes. Being confident and comfortable is key."

Mt. Lady snapped her fingers, and a small horde of third year boys walked in with pieces of wood shaped to fit together to create a stage. The entire class sweatdropped as the young men rushed to finish their task, as if they would be rewarded for doing a good job. Upon completion, however, they were simply waved off without even a 'thank you' from the blonde hero.

Even so, they left with dopey expressions on their faces and feeling far too satisfied.

"As practice, we're going to do mock interviews here today." Mt. Lady said, before looking around and pointing to a student in the back. "You there, Peppermint Patty."

All eyes went to Todoroki, who pointed to himself in confusion.

"Yes, you. Come on up here and demonstrate."

He stood and walked onto the small stage with a flat expression on his face. The boy didn't necessary looked thrilled, but he didn't seem to hate it either.

Meanwhile, the blonde produced a microphone out of seemingly nowhere. "For this first question, just pretend you did something awesome. Alrighty then, let's get this interview started!" Her expression changed in an instant from crass to overly excited.

"Today we have the pro hero, Shouto! That was quite an incredible display, Shouto-san! What do you have to say about that?"

The question was a bit too open-ended for Todoroki's tastes, but he tried his best. "I think it was alright." he responded, simply.

Everyone sweatdropped, but the blonde took it all in stride. "What kind of hero do you aim to become, Shouto-san!?" Takeyama was trying hard to keep her enthusiasm high, but Todoroki's stoic tone did nothing to aid her efforts.

"Someone whose presence... inspires people...to be at ease..." he trailed off, uncertain of what to say next.

"A brilliant answer! But if a hero as handsome as you came to my rescue, I think my heart rate might double!"

Todoroki cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Do you...have heart problems or something?"

Takeyama laughed in an exaggerated manner, but inside she was sweatdropping again. 'Is this kid for real?...He's cute, though.' she thought. However, what she said out loud was "Oh you're too much, Shouto-san! What kind of special attacks do you have?"

With no preparation, Todoroki unleashed a massive wave of ice to the side of the classroom, freezing everything in its way. "It's called Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall. It has a variety of uses, can cover a wide range, confine people in the vicinity, and allow people to find footing. Among other things." he explained.

Mt. Lady smiled at the explanation, but lifted a finger. "That's wonderful, and I don't want to attack your personality or anything, but you should try to smile more! If you could manage that, I bet the ladies would be dropping like flies!" she said in a slightly flirtatious tone.

It didn't have the desired effect, as Todoroki looked down at his trembling hands with a look of terror. "If I smile, they'll die!?" he asked, fearing the answer to his question.

She couldn't hold the act together any longer. "Cut that out, already! It was funny the first time, but now it's a little annoying! Nobody is _actually_ gonna die if you smile at them, Peppermint Patty! It's a figure of speech!"

His hands stopped shaking and Todoroki looked toward his classmates for reassurance. They nodded, and he let out a sigh of relief. "Maybe I'm not cursed after all..." he mumbled to himself, only causing the sweatdropping to resume.

Tokoyami raised his hand. "We're revealing our movesets on live television? Doesn't that seem like a bad idea, letting our opponents prepare for fighting us?"

Mt. Lady gave him a serious expression. "A good question, but not everyone knows what kind of people you are yet! Your special attacks symbolize who you are, and they demonstrate what you're capable of! To your fellow heroes, they're key to efficient team-building. To villains, they're a warning of your presence, and to the citizens, they're a signal that they can trust you with their lives!"

She scoffed, crossing her arms and leveling a slight glare at the class. "What, did you think we yelled out our attack names for no reason?"

Ashido chimed in. "Uhhh...kinda? I never thought of it like that before."

Midnight spoke up. "A good example was All Might. Whenever he would use one of his Smashes, everyone recognized the attack. It became part of who he was as a hero. Villains were afraid of them and citizens felt safe because of them. Do you guys get it?"

A few words of confirmation were all that were needed before Mineta spoke up. "I had no idea she could be serious. Up until now, I thought she was only concerned with how she looked on camera."

Although the woman glared at him, it was Kirishima who responded. "Everyone is trying their hardest to fill the void that All Might left behind. Those are some big shoes to fill, so everyone needs to step up and do their best to make people feel safe again!"

Suddenly, the door opened to reveal Bakugo with a confused glare. "...What the hell is _she_ doing here?" he asked the redhead, who shrugged in response.

"Interview training, man. You remember how we had to learn this stuff, right?" 

The blond man growled. "A little too well. Damn therapists telling me to 'calm down' and to 'think happy thoughts' like that would do anything."

"Hey there Blondie, glad you could finally make it to your own class. Be glad you're not a student or I'd have to mark you late." Takeyama smirked at the man, who grit his teeth and tried his best not to get even angrier.

"Cut the crap, Princess. Who said you could come here?"

"You did, remember? Now get on up here and show these kids how to do an interview."

Hagakure snickered softly, leaning toward Ashido while hiding her mouth behind her hand. "This'll be good."

"I heard that, Invisalign! I'll remember that for the next physical exam!" he shouted, causing the invisible girl to giggle unapologetically.

"Okay, you ready?" Takeyama turned to Bakugo with a genuine smile. The blond man took a deep breath before stepping on stage.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess. Go ahead, Princess."

She cleared her throat before beginning. "You looked pretty incredible out there, Ground Zero! Got anything to say?" 

He clicked his tongue in annoyance at her tone, but responded with a roll of his eyes. "That guy was nothing. I bet I could take on five of him without even breaking a sweat."

Takeyama's eyes lit up, excited to see him actually playing along. "It sure seems that way! You really gave that villain a reason to be afraid of you! I noticed that you have some pretty flashy moves, Ground Zero! Do you mind telling me about a few of them?"

He lifted a hand and allowed a few controlled sparks to form in his palm like a sparkler. "They'd be too loud and dangerous to show you inside, but I'll tell you about them. My AP Shot is basically a focused blast that can break someone's guard or blow up debris in midair. My Railgun Shot is a more advanced version that's for more dangerous villains, and the blast is even more focused than that so it can cause serious damage. My last special ability is called my Howitzer Impact, where I use my blasts to spin and my momentum helps disperse my attack's force across a wider area."

Takeyama, along with the rest of the class, was dumbfounded. This was probably the longest that Bakugo had ever spoken without even a glare in his eyes. "T-Those all sound very dangerous, Ground Zero! How do you manage to keep them all under control in the heat of battle?"

He clenched his hand into a fist and smirked. "I didn't get to where I am without a lot of practice, and that's how I learned to control my explosions. When I first started they were just indiscriminate blasts, but now they're precise and focused attacks that are a lot more versatile."

"I'm inclined to agree with you! If you had to say anything to any would-be villains out there, what would you tell them?"

That question made Bakugo's smirk turn vicious. "Bring it on, you extras. You're just dirt waiting to be wiped off my boots."

Takeyama laughed and gave him a thumbs up, while the class applauded. "That was pretty damn good, Blondie! I honestly expected you to blow a gasket for a second there!"

He growled at her, glare returning. "I needed to show these brats how it's done, didn't I?" he mumbled while looking away. Midnight clapped her hands together with a smile.

"That was very well done Bakugo-san. I imagine most people would feel more than comfortable relying on you to fight off villains with an interview like that. Saving their lives from an accident, though?...Maybe. I know from experience that your moves can get pretty...destructive."

"That's just because you were holed up in that stupid base during our fight! Deku had to bust his way in there himself because we were trying to flush you all out with my Artillery Shot!"

The black haired woman blushed slightly, remembering exactly _what_ went on inside of that 'stupid base'. That, coupled with some of the memories she was recovering in her sleep, didn't help her keep her composure when it came to the man's green haired partner. "O-of course, but none of you really needed saving during our battle so I never got to see it firsthand."

Takeyama took back the reins of control over the class. "Okay! Now that you've all gotten a good idea of what you should expect, let's have each of you come up here and give it a try. Since I'm lazy, I'll just start from the back and move forward."

Conveniently, a certain Pop-Off user was the first one in the back of the classroom who hadn't gone yet. He cringed and averted his eyes, but eventually relented and walked to the front of the class.

Nearly half an hour passed before the class was over, and everyone disbursed for the day. The third year students removed the stage and took it back to wherever it came from, and Midnight busied herself with talking to Kirishima about something related to the lesson. This left Bakugo to handle Takeyama, who seemed a little too excited.

He leveled his red eyes at her own purple ones with a slight glare. "What do you want now? You keep smiling at me and it's creepy as hell."

The blonde woman clasped her hands behind her back and adopted an expression of fake bashfulness. "Oh, is it not okay for me to be happy to see you? I thought you liked having me around."

"As much as a tiny dog that won't stop barking, maybe."

She pouted, crossing her arms. "Well now that class is over, what do you plan to do? It's a Thursday so nothing too crazy I bet."

He sighed. "As much as I'd love to play hooky tomorrow, I'll have to be here in the morning. I could really use a drink after what Nezu told me."

Takeyama's eyebrow rose. "Oh? Bad news?"

The blond shook his head. "Hardly. Basically he told me I'm next on the list to be free to use my quirk and be a pro again. I need to celebrate or I'll lose my mind being stuck on this campus all the time."

"Why not celebrate with me? I'm already here, after all. Besides, it's been awhile since I've had a good drink."

Bakugo looked at her for a few seconds, internally weighing his options. Finally, he shrugged. "I have beer in my room we could drink, but if you're more of a liquor person we'll have to go out." he offered, walking away with just a single glance for her to follow.

Takeyama complied, clasping her hands behind her head and unintentionally thrust her bountiful chest outward. "Hmm. I'm down for anything, really. I was hoping we could talk while we're at it." She gave him a pointed look that he caught out of the corner of his eye. "And I mean _talk_, not you listening while I talk your ear off."

He rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Fine, just don't expect me to be too excited about it. Now that I think about it, we should probably avoid my room. The brats all live in the same building and they have this habit of eavesdropping. They did it to Deku and Kayama, and I sure as hell won't tolerate them doing it to me."

She cocked her head to the side as they walked. "I thought you said they broke up or something?"

"In a way, they did but they didn't."

"You're not making any sense, Blondie. How does that even work?"

He huffed. "If I could explain it, I would. Deku already got in enough trouble for not keeping his mouth shut. The rat would have my head if _I_ was the one to ruin his surprise."

It only took another hour and a half for the two of them to meet up at a local brewery. It served a decent variety of beers and to Bakugo's surprise, it had animals that would intermingle with the customers. He and Takeyama chose a seat near the back of the establishment so they could talk in relative privacy.

While ordering their food and drinks, a german shepherd puppy made its way over to the pair and hopped onto the booth beside Bakugo before laying down with its head on his leg. After a few minutes of the puppy staring at him meaningfully, the blond couldn't resist petting it gently. The dog loved the attention, but seemed to fall into a deep slumber from the man's ministrations.

Takeyama couldn't resist cooing at the sight of the usually aggressive man being so gentle, but opted not to mention it lest he lose his patience. Instead, she decided to strike up a conversation while they waited for their beverages. "So tell me a bit more about yourself, Bakugo-kun. You barely talk at all, so now's a good chance since there's not a lot of people around."

He gave her a flat look. "Really? You care about that kind of crap?"

"Well duh. You've been over to my place twice now and I barely know the first thing about you. You're grumpy and you teach at U.A., but there has to be more than that."

Bakugo rolled his eyes. "There's not a lot to tell, Princess. I went to U.A. when I was a kid, graduated, and now I'm a pro hero. Newly reinstated, anyway."

"Why were you restricted from being a pro hero, anyway? Seems a bit stupid if you ask me."

Bakugo growled. "Just like with Deku and Kayama, I really can't talk about it. Trust me when I say I'd tell you if I could. I almost couldn't even tell my parents. Speaking of parents, how are yours doing?" he asked, idly scratching the puppy behind the ears and inwardly enjoying the way it curled into his side.

Not that he would admit it to anyone. Dogs were usually annoying and needed too much attention for his tastes.

The blonde woman waved her hand dismissively. "Eh, they're doing alright. It was good to catch up with them after so long. They're both still living on the family farm out in the country. Mom still works with the animals and Dad still does the heavy work around the fields."

He raised an eyebrow. "Didn't peg you as the country bumpkin type of girl."

Takeyama huffed and crossed her arms. "You wouldn't be the first one. I'm pretty much the stereotypical 'country girl comes to the big city to make it big' type of person. I'm the first one in my family to be a hero."

Bakugo gave a quick huff of amusement. "First one in your family, and you're already in the top twenty five heroes within a year. Not too shabby."

She snorted with a quick chuckle. "That's probably the first compliment you've ever given. So what about you? You haven't told me anything about your own parents."

The puppy yawned before adjusting itself until it was laying on Bakugo's lap. He smiled down at it for just a moment, but the moment was gone as quickly as it came. "Again, not a lot to say about 'em. The Hag and my old man both work at a fashion designing company, and they've been doing that as long as I've been alive."

Takeyama was about to respond, but the waiter returned with their beers. Bakugo ordered a dark stout, while she opted for a lighter 'blonde' ale. He had teased her a bit about her choice, much to her chagrin.

"You call your mom a hag? What, do you two not get along or something?"

He rolled his eyes with a groan. "If you think I'm hard to get along with, just wait until you meet her. Every time I'm at home, I swear she makes it a competition to see how many times she can scream at me. If I could tell you the number of times she's smacked me in the back of the head you'd file a police report for domestic violence."

She giggled at him before taking a sip of her drink, admiring the flavor. "Is she like that with everyone, or just you?"

Bakugo growled. "Only other person my age she's met is Deku, and she _loves_ him for some stupid fuckin' reason. She's always like 'Why can't you be nice like Izuku' or 'I bet Izuku doesn't complain about doing the dishes'. Pisses me off."

"So basically you're a problem child and she wants you to be responsible." she summarized with a smirk that annoyed the blond across from her.

He chugged down half of his beer in one go, barely giving himself time to appreciate the flavors. "The Old Man is just a pushover in comparison. The Hag is the one in control of the house." he slightly changed topics, and Takeyama relented.

Their conversation went on like this for a short while before Bakugo's phone buzzed in his pocket. Thankfully, it was a pocket that could easily be reached without disturbing the dog that lay on top of him. Takeyama raised an eyebrow at him, not expecting him to be the type to rudely answer his phone when company was around.

However, he gave a snort of amusement as he read the message. "Huh. I guess the rat says it's okay for you to know."

That got her attention, and Takeyama leaned forward slightly. Her jacket had been shed long ago despite the chilly weather outside, leaving her in a cute V-neck sweater and jeans. She refused to prod for the deepest details. Despite her persona as Mt. Lady, she actually valued privacy quite a bit and avoided gossiping when she could.

"It's okay for me to know about what exactly?"

The blond took a deep breath. "You remember the Sports Festival for the first years a few months ago?"

She cocked her head to the side with an eyebrow raised. "Uh, yeah? I was stuck patrolling the arena the whole time, so I missed most of the good parts."

"You remember who won it, right?"

"Where are you going with this? It was some angry blond kid with and explosion quirk."

Bakugo rolled his eyes. "That was me, Princess."

To his surprise, Takeyama merely finished off the remainder of her drink and smirked. "Yeah, I kinda figured that one out already."

Bakugo raised an eyebrow at her, but said nothing. She barked out a quick laugh. "Oh please. You made it super obvious, so it's not a surprise I put two and two together. I helped the other brats save your ass at Kamino, remember? Or did you forget?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a deep sigh. "I shoulda fuckin' figured. Well I'll sum it up for you. Basically we got stuck in the past for eight years and now we're back. Ta-da!" Bakugo attempted to be dramatic while giving jazz hands, but Takeyama just snorted out a laugh in response.

"After all the weird shit that's been going on? I'm barely surprised. Time travel sounds crazy as hell, but it's not like there's any other explanation for you turning from an angry twerp into a sexy ass adult in a few months."

He raised an eyebrow. "Mind running that one by me again?" the blond asked, crossing his arms.

"I said you're hot, Blondie. That shouldn't be much of a surprise to you."

"..." Bakugo was speechless. He'd had plenty of women comment on his appearance in the past, but it never felt so genuine until now. He couldn't fight the slight redness that invaded his cheeks, and he looked away in embarrassment. "Tch. You're not too bad looking yourself, Princess."

Takeyama's smirk turned devious. "Hoh? Is my little Bakugo-kun not used to being complimented by pretty ladies?"

"S-Shut up." he growled, blush darkening.

"That is _adorable_. You stuttered like a little kid in grade school with his first crush."

"I said shut up!"

"And when are you actually gonna call me by my name, huh? Being called a princess out in public is cute and all, but sometimes I like to hear my name too."

Bakugo deadpanned at her, but her unflinching gaze caused him to sigh. "Fine...T-Takeyama-san." he said through grit teeth.

She wagged a finger in his face. "Nuh-uh, that won't cut it. We're at least friends, so drop the honorific."

"God damn, fine."

"I want to hear you say it."

Bakugo narrowed his eyes at the woman who seemed to push his buttons better than anyone else. "Takeyama."

She leaned back and downed the rest of her drink. "There, now was that so hard?"

The blond man didn't say much for the rest of the night, but her persistence reminded him a little of his childhood friend. It pissed him off beyond belief, but somewhere deep down...

It made him happy.

Nemuri Kayama stretched and let out a yawn. She had just finished her last Modern Hero Art History for the day, and was packing up her things to leave campus. There weren't many things to pack, since the textbooks and such were held at the school itself, so she really just had to stand up and leave after cleaning the whiteboard and picking up any trash left by the students.

The Somnambulist user expected to go home for the evening, order take-out from a nice restaurant, and enjoy her dinner while watching sappy rom coms. What she didn't expect was to have one of her students stay after class with a concerningly dark blush on her face.

"Umm, Midnight-sensei? Do you mind if I ask you something...personal?" Ochaco Uraraka asked, fidgeting in place. Kayama raised an eyebrow at the vague question, but allowed it.

"Sure, Uraraka. Go ahead and ask."

"How do you know when you...l-lo-" she struggled to say the dreaded L word, too embarrassed to say it outright. "When you l-_love_ someone..." she almost let out a sigh of relief when she could actually say the word, "what is it like?"

Midnight giggled to herself. 'That was the most adorable thing I've seen all week!'

"What brought this on, if you don't mind me asking? I'm a little surprised you'd ask me and not your parents or something." is what Midnight actually said aloud. Although she was flattered that one of her students trusted her with this kind of secret, she was genuinely confused on why she was the one to go to for advice.

Uraraka's blush darkened and she fanned herself with her hand to stay conscious. "I-I think I might l-like someone, but I'm not really sure what it is. I could ask my parents, but I feel like you might sugarcoat it a little less than my parents." she sweatdropped. "They're a little over the top."

A look of realization dawned on the pro hero's face. "I understand, Uraraka." She put a hand to her chin in thought. "When you love someone...hmm..." she trailed off. "Well, when you love someone you feel like they matter more than anyone else in the world. Sometimes you care about them more than you care about yourself. Is that how you feel around this person?"

Uraraka nodded. "Yeah, I guess..."

Sensing that her student needed a bit more than that, Midnight continued. "Are you sure that you're feeling love and not _infatuation_ though?"

"Infatuation?" the girl asked, curiously.

"That's when you believe you're in love with someone, but in reality you're just obsessed with them. Or you're in love with the _idea_ of being with them. Either way, infatuation is extremely dangerous since it can really ruin your life if you're not careful. Be honest with me Uraraka. How well do you and this person get along?"

The question made Uraraka stop in her tracks. 'How well do we get along?...Fine, I guess...Except for the whole age difference thing. We're definitely not as close as we used to be...'

"It's a...bit more complicated than that, Midnight-sensei."

"If you're not comfortable sharing the details, that's fine. Just know that I can only help you if I know enough of the story."

The Zero Gravity user sighed. 'Here goes everything...'

"Midnight-sensei, would it help if I just told you who it was?" she asked, fully expecting the teacher to jump at the opportunity to pry into her student's private life.

"I'd rather you didn't, actually." came the response from the black haired woman. Uraraka's head shot up in surprise, and the woman chuckled. "As funny as it is to guess who would try to date who in your classes, it really isn't my business. I've always been the type to let you kids experience that stuff on your own."

Uraraka found a new bit of respect for the pro hero with that statement. As much as she was a symbol of sexuality, she really did care about her students. "O-Okay then. What do you think I should do about all of this? I'm more than a little bit confused and frustrated with how my heart hurts all the time whenever I think about him."

Midnight hummed in thought. "Have you ever tried thinking about being with someone else instead?"

"What!? Why would I want to do that?"

"Think about it, Uraraka. If your heart is so set on this person, then why? What is it about him that makes him so unique to everyone else? Is he brave, funny, cute, or what? These are all qualities that anyone can have in their own way, so it's possible that the person you want isn't as amazing in reality as he is in your head."

The brown haired girl was silent. 'Not as special as I think he is?...But why? Deku-sensei is incredible. Even after coming back, he's not way too different. He's still sort of cute, but it's a little different than before. He doesn't stutter like he used to, and he's a lot more confident. But all the things I liked about him are still there. Maybe Midnight-sensei is wrong?' she thought.

The teacher ruffled the girl's hair, much to her amusement and Uraraka's annoyance. "Just don't let it get to you too much. You're still young, so even if things don't work out you still have plenty of time to find love if that's what you want! Either way, I need to get moving. Dinner and crappy rom coms await!" Midnight exclaimed with a wide smile that Uraraka found infectious.

As the woman was leaving, Uraraka stopped her. "Um, Midnight-sensei? Thank you so much for this. I know it was a little sudden, but I appreciate your help."

The pro hero turned toward her and smiled. "Anytime! Now get back to the dorms, I'm sure you're hungry and your classmates will wonder where you're at."

"Yeah, okay! Thanks again!" Uraraka said, waving as she went the opposite direction down the hallway. Midnight sighed as she began her slow walk to her car.

"She must still like Izuku-kun..." she mumbled to herself, expression becoming somber. "And just when I started remembering all of my feelings for him, too. What horrible timing..."

She shrugged internally. "Well, I guess my evening plans just changed."

Izuku absent-mindedly washed the dishes. When he was told by Nezu that he was forbidden from doing any pro hero work or teaching for the week, the greenette decided to go visit his beloved mother. Inko Midoriya hadn't seen her son since he returned from the past, suddenly looking years older and much more mature.

Her initial reaction had been to immediately faint, but she had recovered relatively quickly to the news.

Now that he had some down time, Izuku wanted to stay the entire week with his mother for two reasons. The first is that he felt like he hadn't seen his mom in forever, which in reality, he hadn't seen her in years. The second is that he knew his mother was still shaken up about the whole 'I missed eight years of my only child's life' thing, and he felt that she would benefit from seeing him for more than a single night.

He smiled as he finished one chore after another. Although he didn't like doing them, per se, he knew that anything he did to help his mother would ease her worries. The fact that he knew she would be happier made it worth the effort. After he had washed the dishes, done the laundry, vacuumed the carpets, and cleaned the kitchen floor, Izuku decided to watch some hero news. Dinner was cooking while he waited.

He fully expected _some_ of the news articles to be about him. After all, he had fought tooth and nail alongside the top two heroes in the country. That was bound to give him a reputation extremely quickly on its own.

However, he wasn't ready for _nearly all_ of the news channels to be asking questions about him.

"_We've recently been given clearance to disclose the name of the mysterious hero who assisted the number one and two hero with the villain attack two days ago. Deku, whose real name is still unknown, appears to be in his mid-twenties with green hair and freckles. His quirk seems to be some kind of strength enhancer, but he has also shown that he is capable of creating a strange, black rope as well. Is it possible he has two quirks? If so, is he the only one? And what of his music career? What more will-"_

He flicked to another channel, only to hear similar stories. Izuku sighed. 'If this is what All Might had to deal with every single day, including interviews, I can only wonder how he managed to keep himself together. The media really doesn't have anything better to talk about. Why not talk about the attack itself?' he wondered out loud.

Nearly half an hour of mindless news ranging from a supposed hero team being formed between Mt. Lady, Kamui Woods, Death Arms, and Edgeshot to the mysterious death of Overhaul after his incarceration.

He sighed again. 'At least Eri is safe with Aizawa for now. I'm sure Mom would have loved her to death, but I'm worried that her quirk could run out of control again. It seems like it only takes a few weeks for her to store up enough power to cause issues, and Aizawa is the only one who's capable of really handling her when that happens.'

The door opened and Izuku hopped to his feet to welcome his mother. Quickly moving to the hallway, he came face to face with Inko Midoriya.

She was a beautiful woman with long, green hair and a kind face. Although she isn't quite as thin as she used to be, Izuku would never in his life say that his mother wasn't the most amazing looking person on the planet.

So he was a mama's boy, so what? His father wasn't around often enough for him to experience having a full family, so he had to take what he could get.

"Welcome home!"

Inko smiled softly at her son as he greeted her. "Oh Izuku, you know you don't have to get up whenever I come home."

He smiled right back. "I know Kaa-san, but it just feels like the right thing to do. How was your day?"

She waved her hand flippantly with a chuckle. "Same old nonsense; you know how things get this time of year."

"Oh definitely. Dinner is almost ready, if you're hungry."

His mother almost cried. Ever since Hisashi had started working in the United States, Inko had been forced to be a full-time mother and a full-time employee every single day. Most of her life, she was so stressed about her son's quirkless status that she hadn't had any time to really live for herself. Even her relationship with Mitsuki Bakugo had suffered over the years, especially since it seemed that Izuku did not want to go out of his way to hang out with Katsuki after awhile.

Now, her little baby boy was a fully grown and mature young man. It was a shock at first, seeing her son so grown up, but he was doing everything he could to make her life easier. Izuku had already proven that he was responsible, and he still held onto his morals.

If living on his own with three friends for eight years couldn't change her son for the worse, nothing would.

Inko smiled, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears of happiness. "Thank you, Izuku. I know you haven't gotten to hear this in a really long time, but I'm so proud of you."

"I know, Kaa-san. I know." Izuku wrapped her in a tight hug, his taller and more muscular frame dwarfing her own. His own eyes held small tears, but he refused to let them fall.

She went into her room to freshen up and change out of her work clothes, and Izuku retreated back to the couch to try to find any sort of news that wasn't about him.

'Questions about Endeavor's abilities and his health...Hawks and his flippant attitude...Me...more of me...Jeez there is _nothing_ interesting on tonight.' he mused, eventually settling on a boring comedy show that he wasn't interested in at all. The actors and actresses were alright, but the writer tried to force the jokes a little too hard for his liking.

It only took a few minutes for Inko to return in leggings and a sweater, and her eyes widened at the small feast he had prepared. "I-Izuku, isn't this a little too much!? You didn't have to make all this!"

He shook his head with a smile. "Nah, I wanted to. Besides with this much food, you won't have to cook for most of the week! You'll have plenty of leftovers to heat up later."

Her son's thoughtfulness was not lost on Inko, who sniffled and thanked whatever deity would listen that her son turned into such a fine young man. As they sat down, however, there was a knock on the front door. The two greenettes shared a look and a shrug, before Izuku offered to answer it.

Opening up the door, he was more than shocked to see Kayama standing in jeans and a loose sweater. Her hair was not only straightened, but styled slightly. Izuku had to shake his head to regain his bearings.

"K-Kayama? Wh-what are you doing here at this time of night?" he asked. It was nearing 7:00pm and the sun was already dipping below the horizon.

She shuffled her feet and found it hard to meet his gaze. "I...got bored and wanted to see you."

He raised an eyebrow, but allowed her to enter his home. "You know, I wasn't exactly expecting you to show up here. How did you even know where I live?..." he trailed off in question.

Kayama pointed to her head. "I remembered you taking me here once during our second year. I never got to meet your mother because of all the time travel nonsense, but you brought me here and I guess the location just stuck with me."

"Huh, I guess you've remembered a lot of stuff then." 

"Yeah...about all of that." Kayama started, removing her shoes at the front door. "I want to talk with you about all of that sometime. It doesn't have to be today, but...it would make me really happy to move forward from where we are."

"Izuku!" his mother called from the kitchen, "do we have a guest?"

"Yeah, Kaa-san! A good friend of mine paid us a visit. Is it okay for her to come in?" he responded.

"Her!? My baby boy is bringing women over to our house!?"

Izuku facepalmed with a sigh, while Kayama giggled. "Your mom seems interesting."

"You don't know the half of it. Come on, we were just about to eat dinner. Have you eaten yet?" he asked as they approached the kitchen.

The ebony haired woman shook her head, hair swishing in and out of her face. "I was going to, but I had the urge to see you and I ended up skipping the take-out."

"Let me guess, you were going to order from Ryugo's right?"

She was genuinely surprised that he knew. At her incredulous stare, he chuckled and pointed to his head. "You're not the only one who remembers stuff, you know. You always did have an obsession with spicy foods."

As soon as they turned to corner, Inko's eyes widened as she took in the appearance of their new guest. The woman was tall, polite-looking, and she was _beautiful_.

"H-hello! My name is Inko Midoriya, I'm Izuku's mother. A-and you are?" she asked, stuttering midway through her introduction with a hand outstretched.

Kayama gave a soft smile before she clasped her own hand with Inko's. "Nemuri Kayama, ma'am. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Midoriya-san."

The greenette raised an eyebrow. "Finally? If I may ask, how do you know my son? He's never mentioned anyone like you before."

Kayama jumped slightly before giggling and running a hand through her hair. "Oh, I'm so sorry for not starting with that! You may know me as the pro hero, Midnight. And I'm Izuku-kun's..._something or other_."

The man in question crossed his arms and deadpanned at her. "Is that _really_ what you're going to go with, Kayama?"

She pouted. "Hey! I'm trying here, okay!? I've never met a boyfriend's parents before so this is a little stressful!"

Inko looked ready to faint. "M-my son has a g-gi-girlfriend!?" she had to brace herself on the kitchen table to stay upright. "You grew up too fast, Izuku! I don't like this anymore!"

Izuku sighed and held his mother's arm so she wouldn't fall in her shock. "It's okay, Kaa-san. We dated in the past, but things have been a little different since I've gotten back. She just really wanted to meet you, since...you know, she couldn't do it before."

Inko took a few deep breaths to calm herself, before waving her son off of her. She managed to get up in Kayama's face and put on as intimidating an expression as she could muster. "Now I'll have you know that I expect the two of you to be using protection! I'm not ready to be a grandmother just yet!"

Izuku burst into a dark red blush. "K-Kaa-san!" he cried, covering his face with his hands.

However, Kayama merely laughed. "Don't worry, Midoriya-san. I'm not called the Rated R18+ Hero for nothing. I know my way around being safe with that kind of thing."

"Kayama!" he exclaimed, looking at her like she was crazy.

The Midoriya matriarch held her glare. "I'd better not hear about you two-timing my son or young lady _we will have words_."

"Mom!" the man's head was spinning as he tried to placate the situation.

Kayama bowed deeply. "I may be known as the Rated R18+ Hero, but I take relationships very seriously, Midoriya-san. Izuku-kun is very special to me, and I assure you that my feelings for him are genuine."

"Inko."

The black haired woman blinked. "Huh?"

The greenette crossed her arms with a smile. "Please, call me Inko. There's no need to be so formal in this house. You're welcome here anytime you want."

Izuku was floored by his own mother. 'I knew Mom could be protective, but I never thought she would stand up to Kayama like that.' He knew she had stood up to All Might himself when they were talking about the dorms, but his massive change in appearance as well as a possible threat to his safety were the main points she raised back then. Here, Izuku was physically safe and there was no imminent threat.

He would later admit that he respected his mother even more after that moment.

Kayama smiled at the shorter woman. "Thank you, Inko-san. I'm sorry for intruding on your dinner."

Inko shook her head. "Not at all! We were just about to eat. Would you care to join us?"

"That would be lovely! Thank you for your hospitality."

Several hours passed both in the blink of an eye and as slow as molasses for Izuku, and he felt bags forming under his eyes from the stress. Kayama and Inko got along very well, _too _well. What started as a relaxed dinner conversation quickly steered toward embarrassing stories of Izuku as a child, as well as his mother pulling out a photo album to showcase all of his best and worst moments.

Of course, the discussion eventually made its way back to both the time travelling and its effects on his life. Inko was astounded at the fact that her son had learned to sing from the one and only Present Mic, and even more surprised that he had managed to get Katsuki Bakugo to do the same. Kayama showed the greenette the full video of their performance, while Izuku did his best to hide his blush.

Before he knew it, Izuku looked at the clock to see that it was nearing midnight. His mother had always went to bed somewhat early, so to see her enjoying herself with Kayama made him smile. He didn't want to intrude on their girl time, but didn't want to appear rude, so he merely sat next to his sort-of-ex-girlfriend as the two women talked about anything that came to mind.

His mother seemed to notice him dozing off, and looked to the clock herself before gasping. "Oh goodness! I had no idea it was already so late! I'm so sorry for keeping you here, Nemuri-chan!" she exclaimed, waving her hands in front of her in worry.

Kayama giggled. "Not at all, Inko-san! I had a lot of fun! I'm sorry for sticking around so late. I'm sure you have work in the morning and I didn't mean to keep you awake."

The two went back and forth with apologies until finally Izuku had to drag Kayama out the door to stop the cycle. After they reached Kayama's vehicle, a pitch black luxury sedan, she turned to him with a smile.

"I had fun today, Izuku-kun. Your mother is just as nice as you always said she was, and even more." The dark haired woman snorted. "I guess I know where your manners and personality came from."

He chuckled. "Yeah, well...My dad wasn't really around too much so she was all I had. I haven't even gotten the chance to talk to him about the whole 'I'm an adult now' thing. All I got to do was send a message, and he never responded. International calls aren't cheap."

Kayama's expression turned more neutral, and Izuku knew the conversation was turning toward a less exciting topic. "Izuku-kun, I want us to give it another shot."

He took a deep breath. "I know, Kayama...Things have been so crazy with me coming back, and suddenly you're remembering all of our lives together, and I don't exactly know how to feel."

She fidgeted slightly in place with a small blush. "D-do you want to try? I know I'm not _exactly_ the same as I was back then, especially since I'm sure I haven't remembered even a fraction of it all, but something deep down told me you were special as soon as you came back."

He studied her expression, and his eyes softened. 'She looks exactly the same as she did when she asked me to the graduation dance.'

Taking another deep breath, he responded. "I-I'm not sure, Kayama. I tried hard to forget all of those feelings when I came back, and I knew it would take a lot of time. But now that you're here and you remember what we had? It's making it really hard on me."

He cracked a thin smile that eased her worried. "But if you want to, I'm at least willing to give it a try for real. People might not approve of it, you know. I know that Aizawa was awfully protective of you, even though you were his senior. He'll say it's 'illogical'."

She giggled before wrapping her arms around the man's bulkier frame. "I know he will; he's always been like that, even before we worked on a team together. He'll manage."

Izuku returned the embrace, smiling into the woman's hair. "Let's just take it slow and see what happens, yeah? I don't think I can handle much more craziness in my life after the past few months."

"No promises, Izuku-kun."

The man sighed. "Nemuri-chan, you always make things hard for me."

A mischievous smile. "I know."


End file.
